Anything For You
by Icyfire-MikoDemon
Summary: After an unexpected betrayal, Kagome's already chaotic life takes a whole new turn. With new allies at her side, the Shikon Miko must finish restoring the jewel and avenge her friends. But can she find it in herself to end the life of a man she once loved?
1. The Great Escape

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha Or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter One: The Great Escape

Kagome pushed herself to continue. Her muscles were screaming in protest but she couldn't stop… she didn't even want to think of the outcome if she slowed her pace in the slightest. She had to admit that she was quite surprised by her current speed but her mind and heart were racing so fast that all she could think about was surviving. She had to get to the well… if she could get to her time; she hoped she could escape with her life. She wiped the tears from her eyes so she could see where she was going as she continued on with all her might. She refused to die by his hands… she would rather Naraku kill her than him.

He killed them… all of them. All of their friends… their family. She didn't understand what came over him but it didn't matter. She couldn't forgive him… _wouldn't_ forgive him. Images of her dear friends being slaughtered haunted her as she plunged straight into a river in her path. Thinking quickly, Kagome ripped her bag open and desperately grabbed for various items. Using all her strength, she threw each item in several different directions before zipping her pack back up and swimming down the river.

She knew this was the river that ran through Kaede's village and also knew that all the items in her bag held her scent. She was almost positive that wherever she threw her items, her scent would leave a trail leading to wherever her item may have landed. She had thrown several items in different directions to use as a distraction and give her more time. He would have to follow each path of her scent only to find she was no where in sight. She also knew that the water drowned out her scent, so he would have to follow the river until he caught her scent exiting the river. She just hoped her distraction would work and he wouldn't realize immediately that she went down the river…

Instead of swimming above the water, Kagome dove under and swam with the current. She came up for air when she needed but she knew that it was far more quiet if she remained under the water, not to mention it was harder to spot her if he was merely rushing by. The water was ice cold and only served to worsen her aching muscles. She felt her body begin to stiffen but she refused to allow herself to stop. She needed to get to the well before he found her. She had to escape so she could avenge their deaths. It was now her duty, the jewel be damned. Her top priority was to train herself until she could return and take her revenge.

Finally spotting the forest that hid the Bone Eater's Well, Kagome hurried out of the water and broke into a full out sprint toward where she knew her salvation lay. Her wet clothing slowed her down dramatically but she only pushed herself harder, forced her legs to move faster. The well finally materialized into her line of vision and she sighed in slight relief. She pushed her aching body into the clearing when she sensed her enemy closing in on her. Without slowing, Kagome dove into the well. Relief flooded through her entire being as she was set down on her feet by the magic of the ancient structure.

Her adrenaline was still pounding through her veins as she pulled herself out of the well. Plopping down on the ground, she tried to catch her breath as she leaned her back against the wood. Just as she was beginning to think she was finally safe, every hair on her body stood on end. Her aura flared to life and Kagome moved away from the well as fast as she possibly could. When she flung the doors of the well house open, she caught a glimpse of his blood stained hair emerging from its depths. She held back her sob as she remembered exactly whose blood that was and how it got there. Her muscles clenched tight as she ran for the house.

"Souta, Grandpa, Mama! RUN!" she screeched, knowing they would be safe if they were away from her. Picking up her pace, Kagome made sure he was following her before dashing down the stairs. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of her so she ran into the forest that was near her home. Pushing her legs to move faster once more, Kagome felt her fear and panic increase when she realized she was right back to where she had started that morning… running for her life through the forest.

Clearing her mind, Kagome expanded her aura throughout the surrouding area. To her surprise, she sensed several other demons aside from the particular one hunting her down. Deciding that it was worth a try, she ran straight toward the demons. Perhaps they were nice demons and would help her? Or they could be evil and tear her apart once they spotted her. She hoped it wasn't the latter…

Her mind had been racing so quickly that Kagome didn't notice her pace had slowed. She quickly regretted her lack of attention because that was all her chaser needed to catch up to her. She winced in pain as his claws tore across her back. Falling to the ground, she clenched her fists as her teeth ground painfully. Pinpointing her enemy's location, she sensed him diving in to attack once more. Rolling over, she threw her hands in the air, errecting a barrier strong enough to blast her attacker several yards away. Leaping into action, she pushed herself to her feet and broke into a full out sprint once more. Her entire body screamed in agony but she knew she had to reach her destination. Either those demons would kill her or help her… she had a fifty fifty chance of living... she just refused to die by _his_ hand.

To her confusion, she came across stairs. She never knew there was any civilization all the way out here… Without further hesitation, Kagome dashed up the steps and straight to where she felt the demons. Once she reached the top of the steps, she felt her body pass through a barrier of sorts. She immediately felt safe but knew she shouldn't. The miko could feel the blood pouring from her fresh wounds but couldn't feel any pain. Turning to face where she had just came, her heart leapt into her throat when she saw him smirking at her. She watched in horror as he walked straight through the barrier unharmed.

"Did you think you'd escape with your life? Honestly Kagome, you're a weak, pathetic human… you could never beat me." he mocked.

"Kagome?!" the miko turned to a voice that was unbelievably familiar, though maneuvered her body so she could still keep an eye on her enemy. Kagome's eyes widened when she recognized the boy who had shouted her name.

"Yusuke, get back!" she demanded, turning her back to her cousin and his friends so that her complete attention was on the cruel demon before her. "How could you? They were our friends!" Kagome yelled, holding back her tears. She had to stall some time while she figured out what to do… her mind was in such chaos that she couldn't even tell where the demons she had sensed earlier were located.

The hanyou smirked. "They were nothing to me. You are nothing to me; I only needed you to collect the shards."

Kagome clenched her fists so tight that her body began to shake. "Why... why did you travel with us for so long then! Just so I could collect the shards for you?! You disgusting, vile-" he interrupted her with a snort.

"Hanyou? You're words don't bother me wench. Nothing you do can hurt me." Inuyasha smirked as he advanced toward her. Kagome took a step back and suddenly three males appeared in front of her. She stared at their backs in shock. How did they get there so quick? Blinking, she panicked when she realized one of the males was her cousin.

"Yusuke! Get back! This is too dangerous, he'll kill you!" Kagome panicked as she leapt in front of the three boys in an attempt to create a wall between them and Inuyasha. The hanyou glared at them, her in particular before baring his fangs.

"Don't think that you can hide behind them forever wench. I'll come back for you." Inuyasha threatened before darting off into the trees. Kagome stared into the forest with wide eyes before her weakened body lost its adrenaline and she blacked out.

Yusuke lunged forward and caught his cousin before she could hit the ground. He paled considerably when he felt dampness on his hand and realized the strong smell of blood was coming from her. Quickly but carefully lifting Kagome into his arms, Yusuke hauled her into the temple, rushing past Hiei, Kurama, and Genkai without a word. Yukina had been watching from the safety of the temple and had immediately leapt into action when she spotted Yusuke headed toward her with the unconscious woman. She quickly led him to an empty room and the detective placed Kagome down on the mat gently. Before he could even ask, the ice maiden was already kneeling beside his cousin so she could heal her.

Just as Yukina began healing her, Genkai, Kurama, and Hiei entered the small room. He forced himself to conceal his irritation at the curious stares his cousin was receiving from the avatar and hybrid. The old woman's gaze was fixated completely on Kagome and Yusuke was about to speak but she beat him to the punch.

"You say this is your cousin?" she questioned quietly.

"Yea, why?"

"Are you aware that she possesses more spiritual powers than you and Kuwabara combined?"

Everyone in the room turned shocked stares back and forth between Genkai and the petite unconscious girl on the ground. Yusuke snorted after a moment of silence.

"Stop kiddin around grandma, Kagome's human. I'm the only freak in our family."

"Dimwit… after all you're training, you still act like an amateur. If you would focus, you could sense her clashing aura." Genkai snorted as she moved to stand above Yusuke's cousin.

"Genkai, would you please elaborate… I'm afraid I cannot even sense what you're referring to." Kurama questioned.

"I'll give you a hint; she's similar to Hiei." the old woman stated as she closed her eyes and brought her hand above the raven haired girl's forehead.

Everyone remained silent as they thought of what Yusuke's human cousin could possibly have in common with Hiei. Suddenly an angry red spark leapt from the girl's forehead to Genkai's palm. Yukina stood and hastily stepped back as Yusuke rushed to his cousin's side.

"What happened to her?! What'd you do!?" Yusuke demanded.

"I will explain if she wakes but for now we must leave the room." Genkai stated as she stood and made her way out. She turned at the door and waited for everyone to exit. Yusuke refused to move and remained at his cousin's side.

"I don't know what you did to her but she's in pain and I'm not leaving her." Yusuke growled, glaring at his former teacher.

"Get your ass over here dimwit, she needs to suffer through this on her own." Genkai snapped. Yusuke grudgingly left his cousin's side and stepped out of the room. The old woman closed the door before walking away, muttering 'for your sake, I hope she survives.' as she passed by Yusuke. The detective was about to question Genkai about what she meant but didn't want to move any farther from where his cousin was. Sighing, he slumped to the ground and leaned against the wall next to the door.

"She'll be fine Yusuke. Seeing as she is your cousin, I have a feeling she has a similar amount of stubbornness as you possess. I doubt she will have too much trouble surviving through whatever she is currently experiencing." Kurama reassured his teammate before following Hiei, Yukina and Genkai outside. Yusuke dropped his head into his hands and closed his eyes. He was very confused and didn't know what was happening but he just hoped his cousin would be ok…

Kagome's eyes flung open as she ground her teeth together tightly to keep from crying out in pain. She didn't know why but her entire body burned… as if liquid fire was flowing through her veins. Every muscle in her body screamed in agony and she felt as if she were being torn in half. She couldn't think… couldn't move… hell, she could barely even breath. Every breath intensified her excruciating pain. Her first thoughts of why she was in such pain were that perhaps she had died… and this was hell. That conclusion was soon eliminated when after several hours of riding out the burning feeling, it subsided slightly.

For the few minutes that the pain calmed, she was able to realize that she was apparently in a dark room. Before she could assess her surroundings anymore, the pain returned with a vengeance. For the next few hours, Kagome quietly handled the agony. She wanted to know what she had done to deserve so much torment. Perhaps this was her punishment for altering the future by shattering the jewel. Or maybe it was for not saving her friends from Inuyasha. Tears began to trail down her cheeks as her mind wondered back to their horrible deaths… Sango… Miroku… Shippo… They were all gone because she couldn't help save them. Without warning, the pain just disappeared.

Opening her eyes, Kagome stared at the ceiling for a moment, waiting for the torture to return, but it didn't. She briefly took note of the fact that her eyes seemed to adjust to the darkness of the room faster than usual. Pushing that thought from her mind, Kagome slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and allowed her eyes to scan the room. There was nothing familiar about it and that raised a small amount of curiosity and fear into her racing mind. Standing slowly, the miko made her way over to the only door in the room. Twisting the handle, she glared at the door when she realized it was locked. She had just turned her gaze to the window on the opposite side of the room when she spotted something long and black sway behind her. Before she could stop herself, a loud scream escaped her lips.

Yusuke leapt up from the ground when he heard his cousin's scream. Reaching for the door, he nearly tore it off its hinges before rushing to Kagome and pulling her into his arms. She turned shocked and terrified eyes up to him and cried in relief when she realized it was him. He held her close as she buried her face into his shoulder. Seeing movement from the corner of his eyes, Yusuke noticed everyone was gathered at the doorway, checking what was causing all the ruckus. Yusuke averted his attention completely to his cousin once he was sure she was safe.

"Kagome, are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Kagome remained quiet for several minutes as she tried to regain her composure. Once she felt she was calm enough to speak, she pointed to the appendix protruding from her backside. "Wh… what is _that_?!"

Yusuke shook his head in confusion and sighed as he turned his gaze to Genkai. "Seems this is going to be a long night."

Once Yusuke was able to pry his cousin's death grip from his shirt, he led her to the living room where everyone else had gathered and was now waiting for them. Upon entering the room, Kagome stopped in her tracks when she felt a familiar sensation but it didn't seem quite right. Her gaze wondered to Kurama, Hiei and Yukina and tensed at the glare the hybrid sent her way. Yusuke narrowed his eyes at his comrade before grabbing Kagome's wrist and pulling her to sit next to him on the ground. He turned to her and was worried about the confused and slightly scared expression on her face.

Staring at her intently, Yusuke noticed the changes that Kagome had experienced physically and spiritually. Her eyes were no longer the soft brown they were just a few hours ago. Now they were a vibrant purple color with hints of silver. Her human nails were replaced with demonic claws and a pair of black pointed ears were perched on top of her head. The long black tail was hard to miss as well as it swayed from side to side, reflecting the scared expression on her slightly more tanned face. The tips of her ears and tail were blue and although it would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, Kagome pulled it off quite well. How she became a demon? He hadn't the slightest clue but considering the surprise he discovered about his bloodlines, the detective found he wasn't surprised by this turn of events.

"Explain your travels and once you finish your story, I will clarify your confusion." Genkai stated.

Kagome turned her confused gaze to the old woman and tried to focus. She was at a loss of words… what was wrong with her powers? It usually wasn't this hard to focus her energy and identify whether the people in the room were human or demon but for some reason her powers felt different and out of control. The old woman's words finally sunk into her mind and Kagome's eyes widened. How did she know about her travels? Who were these people? Out of reflex, Kagome's hand reached up and wrapped around the broken jewel protectively.

The old woman sighed. "There is no need to fret; we are not here to take the jewel." she reassured.

Kagome's heart leapt into her throat as she jumped to her feet. They knew she had the jewel!? Kagome turned her frightful gaze to the red head and the boy dressed in all black next to him. Her powers were in a whack but she could still tell that an odd aura was coming from them… they had to be demons. Completely forgetting that her cousin was there and that an odd aura was emitting from him as well, Kagome ran. She was completely shocked by her sudden speed but focused her mind on escaping the demons that were probably after the jewel. Before she could even reach the door, she was stopped in her tracks when someone pulled her back against their chest and positioned a katana at her throat.

"You're not going anywhere onna." she heard the demon growl and Kagome almost couldn't breathe…

"Hiei, let my cousin go before I kick your damn ass!" Hearing her cousin's voice, Kagome turned to him when the demon released her. She watched the demon wearily as Yusuke made his way over to her.

"Kagome, will you calm down? No one here is going to hurt you." Yusuke said.

Feeling suddenly protective once she remembered her cousin was there, Kagome glared at the demon that had stopped her escape. "You do know that no one here is completely human either do you?" she growled. Her mind went blank as she heard herself snarl. Her body froze where she stood and Yusuke sighed.

"Yea… and apparently that includes you Kags. Could you please explain what's happening here? Who the hell was that hanyou that was trying to kill you?!" he demanded.

Kagome's eyes dropped to the ground. What was happening? Her cousin Yusuke knew about demons? He somehow knew that Inuyasha was a hanyou? She was so confused and scared.

"If you will have a seat and explain your travels as I asked before, perhaps you will not gain a painful headache from trying to figure out what is happening." The old woman spoke once more, looking impatient. Kagome slowly returned to where she had been sitting before, pulling Yusuke with her.

"Before I say anything, I want to know who all of you are. I was unaware that demons... Inhabited this area and i have many enemies. I need to be sure you are not one of them. Kagome said quietly.

The old woman nodded as if she were impressed by the miko's caution. "I am Genkai. This is Yukina, Kurama, and Hiei. They are protectors of this realm."

Kagome nodded slowly, feeling more confused by the minute, and turned to her cousin who grinned. "Chill Kags, these guys are safe. I'll explain everything."

Trusting her cousin's words, Kagome began to tell her story. She explained to them about the well and her journey. About her dear friends and their recent deaths. It took her several minutes to finally explain how she ended up at the temple that morning.

"I thought that since the prayer beads had broken that he wouldn't be able to pass through the well anymore. When I realized he still could, I yelled for my family to run before I ran into the forest. I didn't want anyone getting hurt so I thought it would be best if I stayed away from the city. I spread my aura out, desperate for anything that could help me escape him and I felt several demons nearby. I followed the auras and just hoped the demons would help and not tear me to pieces." Kagome explained.

Everyone remained silent for a moment as all the information sunk in. They were quite shocked that Yusuke's little cousin had experienced so much within the last year. Genkai seemed to be the only one not surprised by everything they had just heard.

"Why did you not defend yourself? Your abilities could have easily disposed of the hanyou." Genkai questioned.

The miko's gaze fell to the floor. "I... He was my friend..."

"No he wasn't Kagome. He tricked you. He lied to you all that time just so he could get his claws on the shards." Yusuke argued.

She felt tears burn her eyes as she fell silent.

"She loved him Yusuke, it would seem Kagome's heart is too forgiving... She couldn't bring herself to harm Inuyasha." Yukina spoke up, staring at the miko with sympathetic eyes. She understood why kagome couldn't use her powers on the hanyou. Even though he'd betrayed her and killed her friends, she couldn't kill the demon she'd seen as a friend for so long. No matter how much she hated him for what he did, Yukina would bet she would never be able to actually harm Inuyasha. The miko lifted her gaze from the floor and met her stare. The koorime smiled softly in understanding and she could see the appreciation in her silver speckled eyes.

"It would seem you were lucky enough to stumble upon us then. Any other demons would have surely killed you." Genkai said.

Kagome stared at the people in the room. "So… you are the demons I sensed?"

"You can't tell?" Yusuke asked, confused.

"Her powers are altered. Now that her demon blood has been released and fused with her miko blood, her powers are no longer the same as they used to be." Genkai explained.

Kagome's eyes widened as she grabbed the long tail swishing behind her. "So your telling me that's why I have a tail?! Since when am I a demon?!" Kagome panicked.

"Kags calm down; it's not so bad being a demon." Yusuke grinned sheepishly, staring just above her head. The miko's face fell blank as she slowly reached up and grasped the pointed ears on top of her head. Closing her eyes and willing herself to remain calm, she averted her attention to her cousin.

"Speaking of being demon, since when are _you_ a demon?!" she yelled.

"Silence. Do you want an explanation as to why you are a demon now or not?" Genkai asked, saving Yusuke from scrambling for an answer at the moment.

Kagome piped down and nodded, turning a glare to her cousin that clearly said 'I expect an explanation later' before averting her complete attention to the old woman sitting across from her.

"I am unaware of how or where you received your demon blood but Koenma called upon me several days ago. He informed me that a miko of great power would stumble onto the temple grounds in the near future and that I would need to remove the concealment spell that was locking your demon blood away." Genkai said.

"Koenma knew about all this?!" Yusuke yelled.

Kurama shook his head at his friend's outburst. "Is there a particular reason why you needed to remove the concealment?"

"Koenma did not tell me anymore information but I have an idea of why. Kagome, did you feel anything peculiar this morning? Perhaps while you were trying to escape Inuyasha?"

"Yea actually… I was running a lot faster than I could ever remember." she admitted.

Genkai nodded. "Her demon blood was slowly leaking out from the concealment that was placed on her. I am unsure of what caused the leak but her pure blood was quickly ridding her body of the demon blood. If I had not removed the spell, Kagome would have eventually purified herself."

Kagome stared at Genkai in shock and understanding. "So you had to release all my demon blood at once so that my demon and miko sides would remain equal?"

"Correct." Genkai nodded.

"So why is the tip of my tail blue?" Kagome asked, confused by the unusual color at the end of her new tail. She only noticed it a moment ago since she was slowly getting the hang of how to move and control her new appendix.

"The blue color refers to your purification powers. The tips of your ears are also blue." the psychic explained.

"But why did her eyes turn purple? Why not blue like her tail and ears?" Kurama questioned.

"My eyes are purple?!" Kagome explained, but no one was really paying attention to her surprised outbursts anymore. They were waiting for Genkai's answer.

"Could be from her parents."

"But her mother's human with brown eyes and hasn't the slightest clue that demons exist." Yusuke explained.

"Well she does know they exist, just not in this time." Kagome piped up.

"What about her father?" Kurama questioned.

"He left when she was a kid… there's a good chance that he was a demon and no one knew." Yusuke said.

"And he could have sealed her blood as well, to make her appear human." Kurama pointed out.

"So what is she?" Yukina questioned.

"She is the first of her kind; a mikodemon. Half miko, half demon."

"What kind of demon is she?" Kurama asked, curious.

"Cougar." Genkai answered.

"How is she similar, in any way, to me." Hiei growled, recalling what Genkai had said when she was removing the concealment on her demonic blood.

"Like you, she is an apparition, only her opposing elements are demonic and purification. Her body is constantly battling itself just as yours is. She is a forbidden, though we are unaware of how this came to be." Genkai stated.

"So hold the phone! Koenma knew all of this and didn't tell us?!" Yusuke yelled.

Kagome was confused as to who this Koenma person was but placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder to calm him. "Suke, if he did know he probably didn't know that we're related. Please relax."

Yusuke snorted. "Oh Koenma usually knows everything… there's a reason he didn't tell us."

"Why wouldn't he inform us if he knew your cousin would be in danger?" Yukina questioned.

"Most likely because we could have altered the future far too much if we had interfered." Kurama stated.

"Bingo!"

Everyone turned to see Botan grinning at them. Kagome stared at the girl with wide eyes. For some reason, she felt this girl was a slight threat… but then again, every stranger with an odd aura made her feel that way. Not to mention her new demon powers fused with her miko side was probably throwing her senses into chaos.

"Hello there Botan." Yukina smiled.

"Hello everyone, no time for talking though I'm sorry! Koenma would like to see all of you in his office, including Kagome." she grinned before creating a large black portal and stepping through it. Everyone stood and Kagome leapt to her feet when she saw Yusuke leave her side. Kurama walked in first, followed by Yusuke and Kagome stopped before entering the portal. It looked slightly threatening and she wasn't sure why but her body was telling her to run in the opposite direction. Were her senses that messed up?

"Scared onna?" She heard from behind her and she growled. Turning a deadly glare to the demon behind her, she stepped through the portal without a word. Hiei followed behind her with a smirk on his face. This onna had attitude, she wasn't like other women. She had a fire that the hybrid found he enjoyed adding fuel to. Once they entered Koenma's office, Kagome immediately made her way to Yusuke's side and linked her arm through his. Yusuke rolled his eyes and ruffled his younger cousin's hair until her threatening growl reached his ears. He sighed as he realized that he would probably never get used to that sound coming from Kagome.

"Ah you're all here, perfect. Miss Kagome, I would like to welcome you to Reikai. I am Koenma, the prince of this realm." Kagome stared at the small baby standing on the oversized desk overflowing with papers. Was she imagining things or did that child speak to her?

"I know it's kinda confusing at first but that toddler is our boss. He's older than he looks." Yusuke said, trying to clarify Kagome's confusion.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into this time…" Kagome groaned as she dropped her head into her hands.

"Miss Kagome, please remain focused. I understand that you travel to the Feudal Era to complete the Shikon No Tama, correct?" Koenma questioned.

Kagome nodded, not bothering to wonder how everyone seemed to know of her secret. "Yes but I won't be returning for quite some time."

"May I ask why?" the demi lord asked.

"The hanyou that traveled with my group turned on us and killed the others… I refuse to return until I train myself to use my newly altered powers and can at least hold my own in a fight. Now that my companions are gone... I need to be strong enough to beat Naraku on my own." Kagome explained, her gaze falling to the ground. She blamed her friend's deaths completely on herself… because it was her fault. She should have been stronger. She could have saved them if she had more control over her powers.

"Well it seems you have no choice in the matter. I'm assigning my Spirit Detectives to accompany you back to the past so you can finish the jewel and defeat Naraku." Koenma announced.

"Toddler! It's summer break!" Yusuke argued.

"And that means you have even more time to devote to your work." the demi god grinned.

"I'm sorry but I'm not going back, especially not with them." Kagome piped up just as Botan was getting instructions on how to alter the well so that the detectives could use it as well.

"Excuse me?" Koenma asked, narrowing his eyes at the mikodemon.

"I said I'm not taking them with me. I refuse to watch anyone else die because of me. When I return to that time, I'll be going alone."

"Kags, stop being an idiot. We can take care of ourselves." Yusuke grumbled.

"We'll help train you while we're searching for shards." Kurama added, smiling toward the hesitant miko.

"No, you guys don't understand how dangerous and powerful not only Naraku is but Inuyasha as well. Not to mention Kikyou is out to get me and if you're in her way, she'll take you down too." Kagome argued.

"Are you calling us weak onna?" Hiei growled.

"N-"

"Will you shut up already cuz? You haven't seen what we can do. Believe me when I say that we can take care of ourselves. Kurama got a pretty good reading on Inuyasha's strength level and we're positive that the bastard ran off because he could sense that we are much stronger than he is." Yusuke stated, trying to convince his cousin.

"That was only his strength without Tetsugia…" Kagome murmured but immediately realized that she was wrong. Inuyasha couldn't use Tetsugia anymore… he attacked the ones he once protected… the fang wouldn't transform for him anymore.

"Kagome, please let us come with you without having to argue about this. I'm seriously worried about you and now that I know what you've been up to for the past year, I want to help protect you." Yusuke said, staring down at his cousin seriously.

Kagome sighed and dropped her head in defeat. "Fine… but don't come crying to me when you realize the trouble you're putting yourselves into."

Yusuke rolled his eyes and nodded toward Koenma. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you pack your things and inform your families that you will be busy for the next month." Koenma informed before ordering Botan to create a portal for them back to Genkai's temple. Not as intimidated by the portal this time as she had been before, Kagome stepped through it first with Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei right behind her. Kagome didn't want to be left alone for even a second because she feared that Inuyasha was hiding out somewhere just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Right now Kagome was even more scared of him attacking than before because her powers were chaotic and she doubted she would even feel her enemy approaching her.

With that thought fresh in her mind, Kagome latched onto Yusuke's arm and followed him all the way to his house. While Yusuke packed his things, Kagome had the chance to visit with her aunt that she hadn't seen for several years. On the way to Yusuke's house, she wondered why she never saw Yusuke or his mother anymore but once she stepped into the house and smelt the alcohol, she knew why. After Yusuke was finished packing, he took Kagome to Kuwabara's house. The ape had skipped out on them this morning because of some stupid sick cat that he found and apparently even ignored his communicator when it went off.

When Yusuke got to the door, he simply walked right in, made his way to the living room and smacked a man with orange hair over the head.

"Urameshi! What the hell was that for?!" Kuwabara yelled, rubbing his sore head.

"For ditching your team this morning and not coming to the meeting with the toddler. Pack your things baka, we have a mission." Yusuke yelled before returning to Kagome, who was still standing at the front door. Kuwabara groaned and dragged himself to his room as Yusuke huffed. "That's Kuwabara. He's the fourth member of our group and apparently the dumbest!" Yusuke yelled the last part so his friend could hear him.

"Hey! Who you calling dumb?!" Kuwabara yelled as he stuck his head out of his room to glare at Yusuke until he saw Kagome. "Who's the pretty lady?"

"Lay off baka, she's my cousin." Yusuke snarled, stepping in front of Kagome to block Kuwabara's view of her.

"Chill… I was just askin…" he muttered before returning to packing his things. He knew what the mission was about since Botan had arrived about six minutes before Yusuke and explained everything that happened at the meeting. The reaper had also promised to take care of his sick kitten while he was away and that was the only reason he agreed to go on the mission in the first place.

"Hurry up you ape!" Yusuke complained.

"Relax, what's the rush Suke?" Kagome asked, feeling bad for Kuwabara that he had to deal with her hot tempered cousin more than she had to.

"We're supposed to meet back at the temple in an hour so Botan can take us to your place. She's going to do something to the well so that all of us can go through since you said only you and that half breed could use it." the detective explained.

Kagome nodded slightly as she shifted her hat so it wasn't crushing her ears as much. Now she understood why Inuyasha hated wearing hats… they hurt. It was harder for her though because she had a tail. So to keep it hidden, she had to keep it wrapped around her waist and wear a thick sweatshirt. It only took Kuwabara a few minutes to gather all his things and say goodbye to his sister. Fifteen minutes later, they were climbing the stairs up to Genkai's temple. When they reached the top, they could see Hiei with his arms crossed over his chest standing beside Kurama who had his hands in his pockets as they waited. Genkai, Yukina and Botan were also waiting outside and once they heard Yusuke and Kuwabara arguing, they rose to their feet.

"You're the idiot!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Am not! Shut up baka!" Yusuke yelled back.

"What are you gunna do about it ugly!"

"I'll punch your face in, that's what I'll do!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"I'll beat you so bad no one'll be able to recognize you!"

"Not if I beat you first!"

"SHUT UP!" Kagome snarled, glaring at both her cousin and the tall man that she was growing irritated of. "I'll beat the snot out of the BOTH of you if you don't shut the _hell_ up!"

Yusuke stared at his fuming cousin with wide eyes while Kuwabara backed away from her slightly. No one should have been surprised really seeing as she was related to Yusuke. Turning one last glare to both of the boys that were recently arguing, Kagome made her way over to Yukina's side. Smiling at the koorime, Kagome pulled her into a hug.

"Yusuke told me that you're the one that healed my wounds. Thank you very much."

Yukina smiled. "It was no problem at all, I was happy to help."

"Hate to break up the conversation and all but we really have to get going. Koenma wants you guys to get to the feudal era as soon as possible and get that jewel finished." Botan spoke up, smiling sheepishly.

Kagome nodded and followed the lady of death through the portal she had waiting. Without waiting for the others to come through, Kagome ran into her house to leave a note for her family when they returned. She didn't want them to worry about her but she also needed them to know that Inuyasha could no longer be trusted. That perhaps it would be best for them to take a short vacation until she was able to make sure their home was safe again. Taping the note to the fridge, Kagome rushed back outside and to the well house where everyone was gathered. Stepping into the dark structure, she accidentally stumbled and bumped Hiei and Kurama.

Kurama quickly helped her stabilize herself as the hybrid turned a cold glare down at her. "Baka onna." he snorted.

Kagome shot a glare right back at him before smiling her thanks to Kurama just as Botan declared she was finished modifying the well. The reaper muttered about not knowing if it was going to work and Kagome smirked. With her new demonic speed, she swiftly pushed Hiei into the well. Everyone quickly moved to the edge to see the outcome.

"Is he dead?" Kagome asked, her voice sounding slightly eager. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up to see everyone glaring at her. Laughing sheepishly, she averted her eyes back down the well. "Because that would be a bad thing…" Not enjoying the intensity of their glares, Kagome leapt down the well next. She felt the familiar pull of time travel until she was gently placed on her feet. Very hesitantly, Kagome climbed up the vines along the side of the well. She was terrified of the possibility that Inuyasha had already killed Hiei and was waiting for her at the top.

Just before she was going to peak over the lip of the well, a pair of masculine arms roughly pulled her out of the well and she nearly screamed until she recognized Hiei's forest scent. Her relief turned to irritation as the hybrid dropped her on her backside without a care. She glared up at him angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest and waited for everyone else to join them.

"What?" Hiei snarled when he noticed Kagome was still glaring at him after several minutes.

"You're a jerk." Kagome growled.

"Hn." he shrugged, not caring in the least.

Kagome was about to yell at the arrogant apparition when Yusuke pulled himself from the well and rolled to the ground. "Oh man that shit makes you nauseous…" he groaned as he held his stomach.

"You get used to it." Kagome muttered as she scanned the surrounding forest. Her powers were in such a whack that she couldn't even feel Hiei and Yusuke's auras. She seriously needed to gain control of her powers or it would be the death of her. Satisfied that she didn't see any trace of red in the trees, Kagome turned her attention back to the well as the blue light of time travel appeared from it once more.

Suddenly Kagome felt the need to quickly move away from where she was currently standing. Following her instincts, she sidestepped hastily, just in time to watch an arrow soar past where she was recently. The mikodemon turned around to see what she had hoped she could avoid. Not only was Inuyasha standing at the edge of the meadow, but Kikyou was positioned right beside him with another notched arrow.

A/N:

Welcome to my newest fic; Anything for You. I hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter. R&R please J

~*Icyfire*~

Next Chapter - Chapter 2: Never Alone


	2. Never Alone

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha Or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter Two: Never Alone

"Guys… we have to go back…" Kagome muttered under her breath just as Kurama peaked his head over the edge of the well.

"I am no coward onna; I will not run from a fight." Hiei growled.

"You don't understand… that's Kikyou, and her purification powers are _much_ stronger than mine are because she has more than half of my soul…"

"So then we just have to kill the soul stealing bitch right? Not that hard." Yusuke snorted.

Kagome turned a brief glare at him. "No one can move fast enough to dodge her arrows and if you, or I for that matter, get hit by one, we're dust."

"Hn." Was all that was heard from Hiei before he was gone. Kagome turned her fearful gaze to Kikyou and Inuyasha, hoping the hybrid really was as strong as he believed himself to be. She was shocked when she realized that he was moving so fast that she could barely see him. It was obvious that Kikyou was taken by surprise as well when she attempted to fire her arrow at the swift demon.

Once Inuyasha made to help the dead miko, Yusuke charged up his Spirit Gun and fired it directly at the couple. They watched as the spirit attack just missed the hanyou and completely engulfed the woman, incinerating her body until there was nothing left but a pile of what the miko's body had been recreated out of. Inuyasha and Kagome stared at Yusuke in shock before the hanyou snarled and darted off into the trees, his threats of revenge reaching her ears.

Hiei appeared back at Kagome's side but she barely noticed. Her attention was completely focused on the white sphere floating toward her. It was the other half of her soul. The orb disappeared into Kagome's chest and she was momentarily encased in a white hue. The miko sighed in contentment as she felt herself become whole again. Power surged through her veins. Unfortunately, the added boost didn't ease the confusion she felt ever since her demonic blood was unleashed.

Once the glow was gone, Kagome turned her surprised gaze to both Hiei and Yusuke. She had no idea they were that powerful. Maybe they did have a chance against Naraku… seeing as it only took two of the guys approximately a minute to defeat one of their group's biggest problems. Sango, Miroku and Kagome had been trying to rid themselves of Kikyou for more than a few months but she was far too powerful for them to take down. Kagome turned her emotional violet and silver specked eyes to the pile of dirt and clay once more to confirm what had just occurred.

Yusuke was taken by surprise when his cousin threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Suke…" she murmured before pulling away and smiling up at him softly. Turning her smile to Hiei, she rolled her eyes at the scowl on his face. "And even though you act like a complete asshole, you're not so bad."

Hiei snorted and stuck his nose in the air. "Shut up onna."

Kagome's bright smile slowly turned into a dark glare as Kuwabara climbed out of the well. "Are you incapable of using a person's name or are you just mentally challenged?" Kagome growled.

"I would rather be mentally challenged than a miko that cannot control her own power." Hiei fired back.

Kagome bared her fangs up at the hybrid as her tail subconsciously twitched back and forth in irritation. "You're treading on thin ice here hybrid, I swear I'll purify you into the next damn century if you don't back off."

"You couldn't touch me no matter how hard you tried." Hiei mocked, knowing far too well that he was much faster than Kagome could even hope to be.

"Will you please leave her alone Hiei? She's got a worst temper than I do and I seriously don't want to deal with it for the rest of the day." Yusuke whined. He quickly realized he butt into the argument at the worst possible time when Kagome turned her glare to him. Before he could escape, she smacked him so hard in the head that he fell back down the well. Turning on her heel, Kagome wrapped the end of her tail around the strap of her much lighter backpack and carried it behind her as she stomped off toward the village that she hoped Inuyasha hadn't demolished while she was gone.

When she reached the end of the path, Kagome nearly fell to her knees at the sight before her. The village was in ruins, huts were still on fire and every living thing was slaughtered. Her tail unraveling and leaving her forgotten bag behind, Kagome slowly entered the village. There could be survivors somewhere in the wreckage… she had to help if she could. She entered each pile of rubble, moved around the wood that used to be huts and checked everywhere for survivors. She got halfway through the village when Yusuke reached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with tearful eyes as he shook his head.

Dragging her feet and staring at the ground, Kagome allowed her tears to fall. Yusuke draped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him when Kagome suddenly heard something. Stopping in her tracks, the miko turned back to stare at the rubble. She could have sworn she heard a cry of help… but as she stared at the burning village, she was further convinced that she was imagining things. Just as she was going to turn around once more to leave, she heard the sound again. It was a child crying and it was coming from one of the burning huts.

Pulling away from Yusuke, Kagome used her new speed to dash into the hut she thought she heard the cries from. Searching frantically, she saw a large fur ball curled up in the corner of the hut. Tears sprang to the miko's eyes once more as the fur ball turned its head and mewed in relief. Knowing that she didn't have time to let her emotions get the better of her, Kagome rushed to Kirara's side, avoiding the burning planks that were falling from the ceiling.

Kagome didn't understand why the fire neko was just sitting in the burning hut until she noticed the four children she was shielding from the flames. It was obvious that Kirara would have pulled the children from the fire but one of the kids had lodged himself between two walls. From the look on his face, Kagome could tell that the boy was terrified of Kirara and probably thought she was going to eat him. Kirara didn't want to leave the boy behind so seemed to be trying to claw her way through the walls, effectively scaring the boy even more.

Moving quickly, Kagome placed three of the children on Kirara's back before reaching her thin arm through the walls and grabbing hold of the boy's wrist. "I'm not going to hurt you; we have to get out of here." Kagome said as she pulled the boy out of his hiding spot. Kagome could hear the guys yelling her name outside the hut and Kagome knew they had to get out of there before the entire hut collapsed on top of them. Kirara led the way since she wasn't as affected by the flames as Kagome was. The neko cleared a path for them to walk before trotting out of the hut with Kagome on her heels.

Seconds after they exited the hut, the roof caved in and fell to the ground with a loud crash. Placing the boy on the ground far away from danger, Kagome threw herself at Kirara, wrapping her arms around the large neko's thick neck. She held back her tears as Kirara purred and nuzzled the miko. "I'm so glad you're alive…" Kagome murmured before standing. She didn't have to wait long for her overprotective cousin to snap at her.

"What is wrong with you?! You don't just go running into flaming buildings!" Yusuke began yelling but was quickly cut short when the large cream colored neko suddenly moved protectively in front of Kagome, baring her large fangs at Yusuke.

"Kirara it's alright, they're friends… and family" Kagome assured, brushing her fingers through the neko's fur. Growling at Yusuke, she stepped toward him and inhaled his scent. Kagome could tell Kirara realized that Yusuke was related to her when the demon snorted and backed away reluctantly. Rolling her eyes, Kagome turned her attention to the four small children that now didn't have a home. "Kirara, could you please take these children to the neighboring village? I know the priestess there will care for them."

Kirara mewed in response and turned to the children.

"How the hell is that oversized cat going to carry all of those kids? We could get them there just as fast as she could." Yusuke stated, already holding a grudge against the demon. It was _his_ job to protect Kagome, not that damn cat's.

Snarling at the miko's cousin once more, Kirara plopped down on the ground so the three larger children could climb onto her back. Kagome had to convince the boy that Kirara wasn't going to hurt him before he finally climbed on. Once they were settled, Kirara stood and approached the smallest child, which looked to be around four years old. Purring to the child and licking her face, Kirara hooked her sharp fangs through the toddler's clothing and lifted her off the ground. To everyone's surprise except Kagome's, the fire neko broke into a sprint before ascending to the skies, disappearing in the distance.

"Well that was unexpected…" Kurama murmured.

"Kirara is also very useful in battle. Let's be on our way, she'll find us once she drops off the children." Kagome smiled, now happy to know that at least one of her friends was still alive. Turning in the opposite direction that Kirara disappeared in, Kagome began walking toward the forest without bothering to see if her new companions were following. Her mind was completely plagued by her friend's deaths and the traitor that was the cause of all this.

Speaking of the backstabber, Kagome suddenly wondered whatever happened to the Tetsusaiga. She swore if she ever found it she would hunt down Sesshomaru and give the honorable sword to the inuyoukai. He truly was the son that deserved the fang in the first place. Kagome couldn't see Sesshomaru turning on Rin and brutally killing her like Inuyasha had done to their friends. But then again… she never thought Inuyasha would perform such an act either.

Kagome's thoughts were interrupted when she felt an arm drape over her shoulders. Turning her gaze to her cousin, he grinned and squeezed her tighter for a moment before relaxing his grip once more. Kagome returned his smile and rested her head on his shoulder as they continued on. Hiei and Kurama were behind Yusuke and his younger cousin while Kuwabara remained at the back of the group, feeling overly alert.

"Guys is it just me or do you feel like we're being watched? Or followed?" Kuwabara asked quietly.

"We probably _are_ being followed or watched. This is the Feudal Era, youkai and humans live among one another in this time. You learn to stay on your toes all the time while you're here because there are always youkai waiting to attack." Kagome explained.

"But why the hell would they want to attack us out of all the other people in the damn world?" Yusuke complained.

The corner of Kagome's lip tugged up in a dreadful smile as she lifted the small jar that held her jewel shards. "Because aside from Naraku, we currently hold the most jewel shards in our possession."

"You truly are a walking disaster waiting to happen." Hiei snorted.

A soft threatening growl could be heard from the cougar youkai walking beside Yusuke.

"So we are searching for the last remaining shards? How are we to locate them?" Kurama questioned.

"I can sense and see the shards."

"And Naraku can too?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, Kikyou and I were the only individuals that could see the shards but now that Kikyou is dead, I'm the only one."

"Then how does Naraku gather shards?" Kurama asked.

"I haven't the slightest clue but he is almost always trying to either convince me to find the shards for him, take my ability, or just kill me." Kagome sighed.

"So the onna can be used as bait to lure out both hanyous." Hiei smirked.

"Hiei! Leave her alone already damnit!" Yusuke yelled.

'Why must you provoke her anger?' Kurama asked, knowing Hiei would hear.

'_It is my only source of entertainment on this mission.'_

'You do know that you could easily break off from the group and kill any youkai you like? Koenma does not control our actions here.'

Hiei shrugged. _'I can also go to Makai whenever l please and kill to my heart's content.'_

Kurama rolled his eyes. 'Just please **try** not to piss off the unstable mikodemon.'

'_Hn'_

Just as Hiei and Kurama's mental conversation ended, a large ball of cream fur fell from the sky and nearly landed on Kagome. The miko squealed and wrapped her arms around the oversized neko as it mewed and rubbed her head against Kagome's hip.

"They're safe?" Kagome asked.

The neko nodded her head and Kagome smiled, scratching Kirara's ears soothingly. "Well done… did you see any sign of Inuyasha?"

Kirara growled but shook her head nonetheless. Kagome smiled grimly and brushed her fingers through the neko's fur to sooth her. "Well which way do you guys want to go? The last shards could be anywhere…"

"Which directions did your group cover last?" Yusuke asked, hoping he didn't bring back sad memories of her group.

Kagome's aura darkened slightly but other than that, she remained calm. "I think we were heading back to Kaede's from the north." the miko stated, looking down at Kirara for confirmation. The neko nodded her head slowly.

"Right, then lets go… east?" Kuwabara suggested.

"Fine with me, I'd like to avoid running into Sesshomaru if at all possible…" Kagome muttered as she began walking in the direction the only human of their group suggested.

"Why avoid him?" Yusuke asked.

"Because I don't want to be the one to explain to him that his father's sword is missing and of his half brothers dishonor… although I'm sure he wouldn't pick a fight with us, I don't want Sesshomaru breathing down our necks."

"Did you recently have the sword in your possession?" Kurama questioned.

"Inuyasha did. Both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha fought for the Tetsusaiga within their father's grave. He believed that he deserved it and now I'm beginning to agree with him." Kagome scowled.

"And Sesshomaru is powerful?" Kuwabara asked.

"He's the lord of the West."

"Then why don't we form an alliance with him? Surely he could come of use during the battle with Naraku." Kurama recommended.

Kagome sighed as she realized what a great idea it was. "Yea… but he's creepy…" Kagome whined so quietly that they almost didn't hear her.

"Why am I not surprised that you're intimidated by a inu." Hiei snorted, mocking the fact that she was now a feline.

Kagome turned a glare to the hybrid. "Shut up."

"Make me." Hiei smirked.

"Yusuke, tell your pintsized friend to leave me alone before I'm forced to fry him." Kagome snarled.

"Why don't you act like an adult." Hiei snorted.

"Why don't you look like one?!" she shot back, continuing to insult his height.

"I'm taller than you are onna." Hiei glared at her.

"By only several inches! It's normal for a woman to be short like I am but for a male? I think that big head of yours weighed down your entire body and prevented it from growing to its full height."

"Continue talking and instead of searching out the demons that possess the shards, I'll hang you from a tree and let them find us." Hiei threatened.

Kirara leapt in front of Kagome and snarled up at Hiei in warning. If the hybrid dared to touch her new mistress, she'd tear him to shreds.

"I'd like to see you try." Kagome growled.

"Don't tempt me onna." he smirked, ignoring the neko that was only a few feet away from him.

"I'll purify you before you even have the chance to get me in the damn tree."

"Shut up! Both of you!" Yusuke yelled, slapping a hand over Kagome's lips to prevent her from talking. To everyone's surprise, the detective grabbed the excess fur at Kirara's neck and pulled the snarling demon away from Hiei. "Even though watching you guys cut each other down is funny, I don't want either of you to start physically fighting!"

"Hn like she could harm me."

"Wanna bet on it apparition?!" Kagome yelled through Yusuke's hand, though her words were muffled. Kirara snapped her jaws in Hiei's direction in warning.

"Leave her be Hiei." Kurama glared at his hybrid friend, slightly scared for his safety seeing as both the mikodemon and her fire neko looked ready to spill his blood.

Hiei rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Not trusting that his cousin wouldn't attack Hiei once he let her go, Yusuke locked his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as he continued walking with her in tow. He released Kirara only because he knew the faithful demon would follow wherever Kagome was going.

"Why do you let him get to you?" Yusuke muttered to his cousin.

"I don't! That bastard needs a good beating!" Kagome snarled, trying to escape her cousin's strong hold.

"Stop struggling Kags. You've had no training so you have no chance of getting away from me or even lasting a second against Hiei in battle. Believe me, he would find a way to avoid getting touched by your purification." Yusuke said.

"I don't care how strong he thinks he is, I'll kill him if he gets in my face again." Kagome growled.

"I know you don't mean that Kags. I saw how worried you were when he went to attack Kikyou." Yusuke muttered, turning his gaze to the still struggling miko.

Kagome glared up at him angrily. "I don't care how my face looked back then, right now, I hate him."

"Whatever you say cuz." Yusuke laughed. He knew that Kagome held some form of respect for Hiei and that would keep her from trying to seriously hurt him. Not to mention she wouldn't want to hurt him or the others by killing one of their close friends. She wouldn't do that intentionally and that's the only reason Yusuke slowly let go of his cousin so she could walk beside him instead of dragging her.

She huffed in irritation for a moment before straightening her clothes and calmly falling into step beside Yusuke. She could feel Hiei's amusement rolling from his aura in waves and it took all of her self control not to turn on her heel and punch him square in the face. Why couldn't he be more civil? More polite or kind? Like Kurama? He was the definition of perfect and Hiei… well lets just say if someone was to look up the word Satan in the dictionary, Hiei's picture would be there.

Kagome giggled to herself softly until she heard a familiar growl. Turning slightly, she saw that Hiei was glaring at her intensely and growling in irritation. For a moment, Kagome thought he had heard what she was thinking but brushed it off quickly. He was probably just angry because it was obvious that she was laughing about something that concerned him. Feeling Kirara rub her head against her hand, Kagome smiled down at the neko and brushed her fingers through her fur before turning her attention to Yusuke.

"How did you know that Kirara wasn't going to attack you for grabbing her like that?" she asked.

"I figured that she could smell we're blood related and that I meant no harm to you. So I was hoping she trusted me and wouldn't bite my arm off." Yusuke chuckled.

"Well you're lucky she's as intelligent as she is." Kagome said, petting the large neko once more before she mewed and reverted to her smaller form. Kagome grinned at the surprised looks on everyone's faces as she pat her shoulder. Kirara leapt to her shoulder before climbing on top of the miko's head and resting there comfortably.

"Whoa… didn't know the beast could change into a smaller form…" Kuwabara muttered.

"There has been many times that Kirara saved us in tight situations. When we first met Kouga, his pack was preparing to tear us apart. Kirara transformed and those wolves went running with their tails between their legs." Kagome grinned.

"Who's Kouga?" Yusuke asked.

"Oh he's the leader of one of the wolf demon packs. He has two shards and will probably keep them until the final battle rolls around."

"Why not take his shards now before Naraku gets to them?" Kurama questioned.

"Because even though Kouga kidnapped and tried to kill me the first time I met him, he's now a close friend and ally. He can easily outrun Naraku because of the shards."

"What kind of coward runs from battle." Hiei snorted.

"The kind that's intelligent enough to know when he's fighting a losing battle." Kagome growled.

"So Kouga just runs every time Naraku comes after him?" Kuwabara asked.

"The first few times Kouga stood up against Naraku, he lost almost his entire pack and his jewel shards. Now he's far wiser and doesn't underestimate his opponents. If he's in trouble or knows Naraku's location, he knows to find us." Kagome explained.

"Why would he bring the danger to you guys?" Yusuke asked.

"Because all of us together can fight off Naraku… well that's how it used to be. I'm sure Kouga's heard of Inuyasha's betrayal. I'm actually surprised he hasn't come searching for me yet."

Kirara made a noise that sounded llike a snort and everyone stared at the neko in question.

"Kouga thinks he's in love with me." Kagome said, clarifying their confusion.

Yusuke laughed. "Wait wait so let me get this straight. A wolf demon kidnaps you and tries to kill you then falls in love with you. And from how both you and Kirara are acting I'm guessing this guy is very open about his feelings?"

"Shut up Suke. You wouldn't know what it's like to not want to hurt someone's feelings by breaking their heart."

"I may not but Kurama has plenty of experience with that!" Yusuke laughed.

Kagome turned a questioning look toward the avatar and he sighed. "I have quite a large fan club in my school."

Kagome laughed though she wasn't surprised. The red head was very attractive. "Then you know how I feel."

"Indeed."

"Well if we do run into this lover of yours Kagome, we'll be sure to not bother you guys." Yusuke laughed.

"Shut _up_ Suke…" she growled as she smacked him over the head rather hard.

After traveling for the remaining hours of sunlight they had, Kagome agreed to stop for camp when Kuwabara and Yusuke started complaining. Setting up camp, Kagome declared that she would gather some fish for dinner before disappearing into the darkness. Kagome followed her nose to the nearest source of water before sitting on a large rock beside the river. Staring into the water, Kagome sighed deeply as she saw her reflection. She slowly touched her new black and blue ears as she stared at her violet and silver speckled eyes.

Kagome's calm eyes slowly turned to panic as she saw the reflection just above her head. Inuyasha was smirking down at her and before she could leap away from him, he grabbed hold of her sensitive tail and yanked her back to the ground. Wrapping his claws around her throat tightly, he scowled at her in disgust. "Did you really think you would be safe on your own? You always were stupid. Didn't I tell you they wouldn't be there to protect you all the time?" he smirked before throwing her forcefully into the nearest tree. She winced in pain as she fell to the ground. She was about to yell for the guys but before she could utter a sound, Inuyasha had her by the throat once more and was squeezing so tight, she couldn't breath.

"You're so pathetic. How did I ever see any use for you." Inuyasha snorted before slamming her into a tree again. "You took Kikyou from me you bitch." he snarled, baring his fangs at her.

"S…screw yo…you" Kagome gasped out.

Growling, Inuyasha threw her into another tree and smirked when he heard the familiar sound of bones breaking. "Since your _friends_ took Kikyou from me, I'm going to take you from them… slowly and painfully." he smirked as he made his way to her once more. Kagome was gasping for breath as she tried to stand. Looking up into the nearest tree, she made to leap up into it and run for her life but Inuyasha was too quick and was able to grab her already aching tail once more and slammed her into the ground again.

"Why bother escaping? You're too weak to get away." he chuckled darkly.

Growling at him angrily, Kagome kicked her feet against his chest as he approached her, sending him flying into a tree. Quickly getting to her feet, she wrapped her tail around her waist to keep it a safe distance from Inuyasha so he couldn't tear it off. Turning toward where camp was, she began to run but was quickly stopped in her tracks when she felt sharp claws dig into the skin of her back. The force of the attack sent her to the ground once more and Kagome tried her best to call upon her purification. Nothing worked; she had no control of her powers now that her demon blood was unleashed.

Kagome tried to cry out in pain when Inuyasha grabbed her ankle, pushing his claws right through her skin, as he dragged her back to their previous location. She couldn't make a sound because of how tightly Inuyasha had grasped her throat. She could barely even breathe and she felt as if her lungs were smashed, not to mention she was almost positive that several of her ribs were broken from the hanyou slamming her into so many trees. There was nothing she could do and no one there to save her…

"You're such a baka!"

"It's not my fault I don't know how to cook!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Yea it is! And it's your fault you burned the food!" Yusuke yelled back.

"Why don't you cook dinner then Urameshi!"

"Because _I'm _waiting for Kagome to get back so _she_ can cook dinner you dumb ass!"

"Kagome did say she was bringing back fish, so there was no need to waste the ramen in your bag Kuwabara." Kurama stated.

"Well what's taking her so long?! I'm starving…" Kuwabara whined.

Suddenly Kirara roared and transformed to her larger form and lifted her nose to the air. Hiei and Kurama leapt to their feet. The smell of blood was heavy in the air and it was familiar. Turning to look at each other for a moment, Yusuke's weaker demon nose finally recognized the scent and panic filled him. "KAGOME!"

Kagome was slowly losing consciousness and she knew the end was near. Inuyasha had thrown her into several more trees and choked her a few more times. Her wounds were bleeding profusely and she was sure that if Inuyasha didn't kill her soon, she would either die of blood loss or internal bleeding. Her arm was broken in several places and she could barely breathe since Inuyasha had crushed her airway to the point of nearly suffocating her. Her entire body was screaming in agony and she just wanted it all to end.

"Don't fall asleep yet wench, I'm nowhere near done with you." Inuyasha snarled as he pressed his claws into the long gashes on Kagome's back. The miko's eyes widened as she groaned in pain. Tears trailed down her cheeks as her body was forced to remain awake and alert. Kagome was practically begging her powers to help her but it was no use. Her purification and demonic powers were battling each other and made her senses so disorientated that she couldn't even sense Inuyasha as he stood directly over her.

Kagome held back her tears as she glared up at Inuyasha bravely. If this was the end for her, she refused to allow him the pleasure of seeing her tears. She would not show him her pain. The little miko bared her fangs up at him before biting his arm as hard as she could. Kicking him where it hurt most, Kagome pushed herself to her feet. Before she could even move, Inuyasha punched her hard in the stomach, sending her flying into a tree. Slumping to the ground, Kagome couldn't move. She was in too much pain to even lift her head. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and wait for Inuyasha to strike her again.

Instead of pain, Kagome felt relief flood through her entire system when she felt a pair of arms gently lift her from the ground. "It's alright Kagome, we're here now." She could hear Kurama say as her vision swam. Knowing that she needed to remain awake, she forced her eyes to stay open. She could faintly hear Kirara's roars and the sound of battle only feet away from her but she didn't have the strength to lift her head and see what was happening. Before she knew it, Kurama was carrying her off and Yusuke was at their side trying to get his nearly dead cousin to speak to him.

"Kagome…"

"From what I can see, her throat is crushed. She probably can't speak or barely breathe for that matter." Kurama said softly. "We have to get her to camp so we can clean her wounds and hopefully heal her other injuries."

"Kuwabara, grab some of that water." Yusuke ordered, refusing to leave his cousin's side. "Just hang in there Kags…"

Once they reached camp, Yusuke unrolled her sleeping bag and dug through her bag for the first aid kit. With the light of the fire, everyone winced at the condition the miko was in. There were long and deep gashes along her back and puncture wounds in her ankles from where Inuyasha grabbed her. Dark purple bruises covered her entire neck and it was obvious that there were many broken bones.

Lying her down on her stomach, Kurama immediately picked her back up when she groaned in agony from the pressure on her ribs. "Shit, her ribs are broken too aren't they?" Yusuke asked, feeling his heart drop into his stomach.

"Yes, this is going to be far more difficult than I first assumed." Kurama sighed. Calling Kirara over, Kurama asked the neko to support her back as they sat her down on the sleeping bag. They needed to clean her wounds and stop the bleeding before they attended the broken bones. The neko placed herself right behind Kagome and Kurama rested her upper back on Kirara's stomach. Taking a cloth, Kurama soaked it in the water and first cleaned the wounds on her ankles while Yusuke pressed another cloth against her back injuries to clot the bleeding.

Yusuke asked Kuwabara to get more water before turning to Hiei. Pleading his friend with a face that Hiei had never seen the detective use before, Yusuke requested that the hybrid help him clean Kagome's back wounds. Holding her upright from the back of her shoulders, Hiei watched as the miko's face cringed in pain each time Yusuke pressed a clean cloth to her back. Once she was clean, disinfected and bandaged up, Kurama made a makeshift sling for her broken arm. Feeling her ribs, he was relieved that they weren't shattered, only cracked. Thanks to Kagome's new demon blood, her ribs would heal within the next few days.

The last injury they had to tend was her throat. Inuyasha had done quite a number on the poor miko. She couldn't speak and her breathing came out in gasps. Unfortunately, the only way to repair her lungs was to reform them and remove the dents Inuyasha had inflicted. Sighing, Kurama searched for a seed that he could use for the situation. He needed something he could control that was edible and made of a soft texture. Finally finding the perfect plant for the job, Kurama held it gently in his palm and forced it to grow.

Everyone, including Kagome, watched as a long velvet soft looking vine grew in the avatar's hand. The smell of peppermint invaded their senses as Kurama moved closer to Kagome's head.

"Kagome, this may hurt but it needs to be done so you can breathe and survive the night." Kurama stated, his voice soft as he gently held her head up with one hand and brought the vine toward her lips with the other. Kagome's eyes widened when the vine moved of its own accord. Trying her best, she pulled her head away from Kurama's grasp. There was _no_ way he was getting that thing in her mouth.

"Kagome please, it's edible." Kurama pleaded with the miko.

'_I don't care if the damn thing's edible, I'm not letting you put it in my mouth.' _Kagome snarled in her mind although she knew no one could hear her.

'Open your mouth onna before I make you.' Hiei growled.

Kagome was now confused. Hiei was in her line of vision but she didn't see his lips move at all. She was absolutely sure she heard his voice but how? The miko was so distracted by her current line of thought that she didn't notice Yusuke grab her jaw and open it while Kurama placed the vine on her tongue. Everything happened so fast. One minute, she felt a slimy worm like object on her tongue then before she knew it, the vine was traveling down her throat and pushing against her airway. The vine was pushing her crushed lungs back into place and it hurt far more than when Inuyasha had made the injury in the first place.

After a few minutes, the vine slithered back out of her lungs and slid down her throat and into her stomach. She could feel the plant dissolve and felt a warm comforting feeling fill her entire body for a moment. Kagome then realized that Kurama had used a peppermint plant. Peppermint worked well with healing tissue and muscles and that's probably why the avatar had her ingest the plant once it finished repairing her lungs. Speaking of her lungs, Kagome felt relieved as the wonderful feeling of a full and complete breath of air entered her system.

"Feeling any better Kags?" Yusuke asked, worry evident in his voice.

Kagome nodded her head slowly, not trusting her voice just yet. Her cousin smiled in relief before grabbing his sleeping bag and dragging it over. Positioning it right beside Kagome's, he sat down and smiled toward her.

"We should get some sleep, Kagome especially." Kurama said as he also made his way to his sleeping bag. Kagome watched as Kuwabara added a few more branches to the fire and Hiei leapt into a nearby tree to sleep. Kagome buried her face in Kirara's fur as she thought of what happened to Inuyasha. Did the guys kill him? Did he escape? Was he at least injured? She had no idea but she wasn't too worried if he was alive because the guys had proved they could keep her safe. As she closed her eyes and took in another long breath, Kagome felt completely protected with her four body guards sleeping around her.

A/N:

That wraps up chapter 2 and I'd like to give a shout out to HlfDemonLvr7703! I love reading reviews from readers like you :) it inspires me to continue my writing. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as HlfDemonLvr did ^_^ Thanks for reading, R&R please.

*~Icyfire~*

Next Chapter - Chapter Three: Accidentally On Purpose


	3. Accidentally on Purpose

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter Three: Accidentally On Purpose

Kagome held her ribs as she tried to finish coughing. Each cough felt as if someone was stabbing her in the chest or trying to pull her ribs out one by one. She noticed several worried glances sent her way but brushed them off. It had been two days since Inuyasha nearly killed her and she was barely able to convince Yusuke to let her walk on her own two feet. The puncture wounds on her ankles were completely healed and didn't hurt anymore. Her arm was almost completely healed and no longer required a sling and her lungs and throat were near perfect but her voice was still slightly raspy.

Aside from that, her ribs and back were the worst. The claw marks on her back were healing slowly but much faster than they would have if she was still fully human. Kurama said her ribs would take the longest to heal. Her flesh wound would heal over within the next day or so but her ribs would take at least four days to repair themselves fully. She could feel the bones rearranging themselves and decided it was one of the most uncomfortable feelings she'd ever experienced.

Even though she was injured two nights before, Kagome insisted that they travel the next day. Everyone, even Hiei, refused to allow her to walk in her condition so she suggested that Kirara could carry her. As long as Kagome promised to remain on Kirara's back, especially during a battle, they agreed to continue traveling. By some miracle, Kagome was happy to find out that her power to sense the jewel shards hadn't been affected by the merging of her demon and miko blood. The previous day, she sensed three shards and the guys were able to find and destroy the demon so Kagome could locate the body part that housed the shards before it could regenerate.

Today, Kagome was able to convince them to let her walk without Kirara's help. The only problem that bothered the living daylights out of the miko was that they were all watching her like hawks. Each wince or groan of pain she made had them rushing to her side to be sure she was ok. The only member of their group that left her alone for the most part was Hiei. She was glad that he had enough kindness in his evil midget soul to not pick on her while she was in pain. She had expected him to insult her and call her weak but he kept his mouth shut and left her alone. The only attention she received from him were the random glares he'd throw at her when she tried to push herself too hard.

Yusuke was the most annoying. He was worried about every single sound or sigh that came from her. Kagome had stopped for a moment to drink some water and before she even got the chance to bring the bottle to her lips, Yusuke was asking if her throat was sore. Kagome finally had enough by the middle of the day and snapped at her poor worried cousin. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings but she wanted him to know she wasn't a complete weakling. She needed him to give her some space instead of overwhelming her with his worries.

After giving him a good and long talk, Yusuke finally backed off a little but still kept a close eye on her. While they traveled, Kagome asked what happened to Inuyasha and she felt her heart sink into her stomach when Yusuke growled and Kurama and Hiei glared into the distance. Kuwabara told her the hanyou escaped only because everyone was more worried about her surviving than hunting him down and killing him. Now Kagome understood why Hiei and Kurama were walking ahead of her and Yusuke and Kuwabara behind her while Kirara traveled right beside her. They were making sure she would be safe since Inuyasha was still out there.

"You guys think Inuyasha is bad… wait till we first encounter Naraku. He's ten times worst." Kagome muttered when Yusuke once again growled about letting the bastard loose.

"He can't be worst than that back stabbing dirty hanyou." Yusuke growled.

Kagome turned a glare toward her cousin. "Just because hanyous are half human and half demon doesn't mean they're 'dirty'. Don't insult all hanyous just because of Inuyasha and Naraku."

"What's gotten into you?" her cousin grumbled.

"I've met several very nice hanyous. I just hate to think of Inuyasha and Naraku put in the same category as them. It would be like categorizing Hiei with other half bloods." Kagome said, glancing up at Hiei who was walking ahead of them with Kurama. "It's not their fault they have different blood… and since I'm similar to Hiei, it's like your insulting me as well…" Kagome said. She thought back to when she used to defend Inuyasha when Kouga would insult his tainted blood. To think that she actually loved Inuyasha at one point… and now he was out for her blood.

"I get what you mean… that bastard just pisses me off." Yusuke growled.

"I know… imagine that hate you feel toward Inuyasha ten times stronger. That's how my group felt against Naraku. He's killed so many innocents and destroyed so many lives… He doesn't deserve to live any longer."

"Is Naraku seriously as strong as you say?" Kuwabara asked.

"Would I exaggerate about such a serious situation? He has more than half the jewel and uses it to enhance his powers. He also has Kagura and Kanna fighting at his side which makes things even more complicated." Kagome explained.

"Are they strong?" Kwa asked.

"Kagura is a wind demon and Kanna… I'm not sure what she is but she has a mirror that can steal souls. It can also absorb any attack and reflect it right back at you. So whatever you do, do not use energy attacks or weapons like arrows on her."

"And what about Naraku? What type of powers does he possess?" Kurama questioned, bringing himself into the conversation.

"He has many powers… he can create puppets to do his dirty work. He can make incarnates of himself, which is what Kagura and Kanna are. He once had a demon child that could find darkness in an individual's soul and use it to control that person. Naraku tried to use it on me so he could use my power to see the shards but there wasn't enough darkness for the child to hold complete control over me."

"Damn Kags, you didn't tell us that." Yusuke said, glaring at her slightly.

"There's a lot I haven't told you…" she murmured, even though she knew they heard her. "Naraku has nearly broken my soul in order to control me. He's tried many things in his attempt to either use me or rid of me but nothing has worked so far. Even Sesshomaru hasn't figured out how to permanently kill me yet."

"If I frickin knew about all this, you wouldn't be allowed to go back here." Yusuke growled.

"And that's why my family doesn't know the complete details. I'm sure mama knows I'm in serious danger when I come here but I make sure to heal up completely before going back to visit so she doesn't worry." Kagome grinned.

"Baka onna." Hiei snorted.

"Oh are you done being nice to me now? I'm still injured you know." Kagome mocked the hybrid.

"Hn." he glared at her for a moment before turning his back to her once more.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what we mainly have to worry about is Naraku's miasma and his tentacles. Those things can pierce through practically anything and only a few minutes in his miasma and you're done for. If you stay close to me, my power will automatically purify the miasma but if I'm not there, get the hell away from it."

"Anything else? Any weaknesses?" Kurama asked.

"Aside from purification? Not that I know of. He regenerates quickly because of all the shards he has in his possession."

"Can he move almost as quickly as Hiei?" Kurama asked, staring off in the distance.

Kagome stared at the avatar in confusion. "No why?"

"Because there is a strong demonic aura approaching quickly." Hiei growled as he rested his hand on the hilt of his katana. Seconds after the presence of the demon was announced, Kagome felt two jewel shards racing toward them and she groaned.

"Why now?!" Kagome whined as she buried her face in Kirara's fur. "It's just Kouga, relax." the miko complained.

The group relaxed but not completely. They hadn't met the wolf prince yet and therefore didn't trust him. In the distance, a small dirt devil could be seen. Moments later, it flew by them and suddenly disappeared. Everyone stared at the wolf standing before Kagome holding her hands and staring down into her eyes as if they were madly in love. His love stuck gaze quickly broke and turned to confusion as he caught sight of her long black tail swishing behind her and her ears pinned back slightly.

"Kagome? What happened to you? I've been searching for you everywhere!" Kouga growled, though it was in worry, not anger.

"I was injured for quite some time and had to stay in hiding before I could travel." Kagome said, bending the truth.

"I always knew that damn mutt couldn't take care of my woman like I could. Did he harm you?"

"I'm fine Koug-"

"You're wounded… he did this to you didn't he?! I'll kill that damn mutt!" he snarled, still ignoring the guys glaring at him intently.

"Kouga, I'm fine!" Kagome growled, gaining his attention.

The wolf smirked down at her as his eyes traveled down her body. "I have to say… you're sexier as a demon…"

"Ok back off weasel." Yusuke growled as he stepped toward his cousin.

"And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Kagome's older cousin so if you want to even _dream_ of getting with her, you better show some damn respect." he snarled, knowing that demon law stated that if a male wanted to court a female, he needed the permission of any older member of her family that she resided with.

Kouga growled softly but backed away from Kagome a bit. "You never told me you traveled with your cousin."

"You didn't ask." Kagome replied in boredom.

"What has that mutt done to my woman? She's not as full of life as she used to be!" Kouga snarled, turning his attention to Yusuke and Kurama, who was now standing beside the detective.

"She's not your woman!" Kuwabara yelled in irritation.

"Yes she is, human, so back off or I'll kill you!"

"Not before I rip your throat out." Hiei growled.

"I'd like to see you try shrimp!" Kouga argued back.

"EVERYONE STOP!" Kagome yelled, her ears completely pinned against her head now as her tail whipped around in irritation. "Shut up before **I**kill all of you!"

"Like you could." Hiei snorted.

"Don't test my patience hybrid!" Kagome snarled.

"Leave my woman alone!" Kouga yelled, turning to bare his fangs at Hiei.

"I'll harass her when and how I please." he growled, glaring at Kouga.

"The hell you will, I'll purify you straight to hell where you belong you miniature spawn of Satan." Kagome threatened.

"Can we please stop arguing?" Kurama questioned calmly, surprisingly gaining everyone's attention. "I'm sure all this tension is stressing Kagome and slowing down her healing process, so if we could try to keep this civil, I'm sure everyone would appreciate it."

"Thank you Kurama." Kagome sighed. "Was there any other reason you came Kouga?"

"Yea, to inform you that Naraku has the rest of the shards. You and I have the only shards that he doesn't possess and now he's after me."

Kagome nodded. "So the final battle with be soon. I guess we should find Sesshomaru and see if he'll fight by our side." Kagome murmured.

"There's more bad news Kagome… the mutt is on his side." Kouga announced softly.

Kagome stared at the wolf demon for a moment before shaking her head. "Ok so we really need to get Sesshomaru on our side."

"So we need to head west now?" Kuwabara asked, spinning in a complete circle as he attempted to figure out which way was west.

"Yes, you'll be coming with us Kouga?" Kagome asked, turning her attention to him for a moment. The wolf grinned and nodded and Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

For the next few days, the group traveled at a decent pace toward Sesshomaru's land. The spirit detectives were constantly irritated with the wolf prince that refused to leave Kagome's side, even when they slept. He would lie on the ground beside the miko's sleeping bag the entire night. Yusuke was able to sleep on the opposite side of his cousin but it irritated him that the wolf had practically attached himself to Kagome's hip.

To everyone's relief, Kagome showed no form of interest toward Kouga at all. The only unfortunate part about it was Kouga didn't seem to notice that Kagome wasn't interested. He still insisted on calling her his woman and it was slowly grading on everyone's last nerve. Kagome was completely healed by the time they entered Sesshomaru's lands and now the entire group were on their toes. Kouga encountered the demon lord in person before and knew Sesshomaru was one of the demons people purposely avoided.

Suddenly a small dark haired child emerged from the bushes and accidentally ran into Kouga. Since he was already on guard, he was caught by surprise and snarled down at the girl. Rin stared up at her worst nightmare in complete horror before rushing to the only familiar person she could find. Grabbing onto Kagome's leg as if it were a life line, Rin hid behind the miko, hoping she would protect her from the scary demon. Kagome glared at Kouga as she turned and wrapped her arms around the terrified girl.

"Aunty Kagome… please don't let him hurt me…" Rin whimpered as she buried her face in the miko's stomach. Kagome smiled and wrapped her tail around the child's waist protectively.

"It's ok Rin; no one's going to hurt you." Kagome reassured.

"You know this kid?" Yusuke asked, peeking around his cousin to get a good look at the child.

"This is Sesshomaru's ward." Kagome explained, surprising everyone. "She's another reason Sesshomaru hasn't gotten rid of me yet."

"She called you aunty?" Kuwabara asked.

"Her family was killed and I'm still not sure why but Sesshomaru took her in. Every time Inuyasha and Sesshomaru would fight, Rin would end up in my care and Sango and I would protect her until the battle was over."

"What an odd arrangement." Kurama mused.

"Perhaps but Rin's just an innocent child, it's not her fault her lord gets into battles with his half brother all the time." Kagome shrugged.

"Where's aunty Sango and Shippo?" Rin questioned innocently.

Kagome held back her tears as she smiled down at Rin. "They don't travel with me anymore."

"So I've heard." Everyone turned their attention to the tall inu youkai standing several feet away. The entire group tensed as Rin grinned and ran to her lord's side.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Look! Aunty Kagome's here!"

"I see, what is the reason for your visit." he demanded more than asked.

"We need your help in the battle against Naraku." Kagome answered quietly.

"And what of Inuyasha?"

"That bastard is on Naraku's side." Yusuke growled, earning a curious glance from Sesshomaru.

"I've heard of his betrayal toward your group, miko, why have you allowed my half brother to live?"

"It's not a matter of my allowing him to live… I'm not powerful enough to defeat him." Kagome admitted shamefully.

"You are now demon are you not?"

"Only half. I still possess my miko powers."

"How is that so? There has never been such a being that can possess such opposing powers."

"I am the first of my kind; a mikodemon." she explained.

Everyone was curious as to why Kagome so openly gave Sesshomaru any answer he asked for. They would have to ask her later because the miko wasn't usually this trusting but here she was telling the lord all the information he desired.

"I expect more of an explanation while we are in search of Naraku." Sesshomaru stated, causing a small smile to grace Kagome's lips.

"So you'll join us?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes miko."

Kagome's smile widened as she bowed slightly. "Thank you lord Sesshomaru."

"Do I get to spend more time with Aunty Kagome?" Rin asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Yes."

The child cheered and rushed the miko, hugging her leg tightly. "Isn't this exciting?!"

"Of course Rin!" Kagome smiled as she lifted the girl into her arms. Kirara, who was perched on Kagome's shoulder, mewed at Rin and licked her face playfully before leaping onto her head. The girl giggled at Kirara's antics as Kagome placed them on the ground so they could play. Kagome turned her gaze back to Sesshomaru. "Naraku shouldn't be far behind us; maybe a day or two."

"Then perhaps we should find a suitable location to await his arrival." the lord suggested.

"We can set up traps and all that." Kuwabara grinned.

"If Naraku is stupid enough to fall into them." Yusuke snorted, shooting down his comrade's idea.

"No wait… That's actually a great idea Kuwabara. If we can lead majority of Naraku's army into traps, that will help us a great deal." Kagome mused.

"And perhaps we can separate Kagura and Kanna from Naraku and attack them individually." Kurama added.

"What about the mutt?" Kouga asked.

"He's mine." Hiei growled.

"Why does the shrimp get him?!" Kouga argued.

"Because no one has ever escaped Hiei with their life and our little fire cracker needs to keep his reputation." Yusuke explained.

Kagome stared at Hiei for a moment. So he had the chance to kill Inuyasha but turned his back to help her? That must have been one hell of a blow to his pride. She didn't know many male demons that could let their enemy get away with their life and if Kagome was correct, Inuyasha had escaped Hiei _twice_ already. There was no way the hybrid was going to let Inuyasha escape alive a third time.

"I'll take on Kanna, since I'm the only one that knows how." Kagome announced.

"Say what? I didn't just hear you say you were going to take on the soul stealing demon did I?" Yusuke asked, glaring at his cousin and daring her to tell him otherwise.

"You heard correct Suke. I just need a bow and quiver of arrows. I'm the only one that Kanna has ever had trouble with. She can easily kill all of you without breaking a sweat but I know how to destroy her mirror. Once her mirror is gone, she's useless." Kagome explained.

"Didn't you tell us _not_ to attack her with weapons like arrows?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes but those instructions were strictly for all of you. My purifying arrows are her weakness." Kagome stated.

"And if your purification does not bend to your will? Just as the rest of your powers aren't?" Hiei piped up, glaring at the mikodemon.

Kagome averted her gaze and stared at the ground blankly. "Then I will figure out some other way to defeat her. Her mirror isn't powerful enough to steal all of my soul… it couldn't even steal half of it."

"Alright then, Kagome will take care of Kanna, who will fight the wind demon?" Kurama asked quickly, not wanting an argument to break lose.

"She's mine… that bitch has to pay for killing my tribe." Kouga snarled.

"Right so then Kurama, Yusuke, Sesshomaru and Kuwabara will fight Naraku and the army while Hiei, Kouga and I take care of the allies?" Kagome clarified.

"Correct. Once you are finished, join the battle with Naraku. Our primary goal is to get his shards from him." Kurama stated.

"And I'll be able to find them. You guys just have to be careful of any puppets he may use." Kagome pointed out.

"Thanks for the reminder." Yusuke nodded. "So that's the plan? Can we eat now? I'm starving."

Kagome groaned as she glared at the knee deep water. With Sesshomaru's permission, the miko was able to visit a nearby pond to catch fish for dinner. It was no surprise to her that her four body guards refused to let her leave without someone with her. They didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time she was supposed to catch fish for dinner. Since Yusuke and Kuwabara were arguing over who would be stuck with collecting wood and setting up camp, Kagome asked Kurama if he would accompany her. He smiled politely and followed behind the miko, not surprised that Hiei also decided to follow.

Kurama was curious of his companion's behavior lately. Hiei barely cared about anyone but himself and _maybe_ his comrades on rare occasions but lately he seemed to be protective of Kagome. He couldn't be sure of the exact reason just yet but he was almost positive it was because he respected the little miko. Not only that but also because she was currently his only source of entertainment and if Kurama knew his friend at all, he knew that meant Kagome belonged to Hiei. She was his personal property because she was his entertainment while they were on this mission so if she was harmed, he would get pissed that someone dared to touch what was his.

Kurama highly doubted that Hiei was attracted to Kagome in any way. He had never shown any form of interest since he met her so he was left with the conclusion that he respected her as a person and perhaps even felt it was his job to protect her because she was weaker than him. With that in mind, he definitely wasn't surprised the hybrid followed him and Kagome to the nearby pond. Ever since Inuyasha had nearly killed the cougar demon, Hiei kept her in his line of vision at all times. Kurama hoped he was reading his friend correctly and if he was, then Hiei was almost acting like a big brother toward the miko. He would get irritated with her when she pushed herself too much but made a hobby of irritating the living hell out of the poor miko. He seemed to absolutely love pissing her off and riling her up.

Once they had reached the pond, Kagome stepped toward it without hesitation and began removing her shoes and socks. Before stepping into the water, the miko decided to dip her toe into the water to check the temperature and surprisingly found that her cat instincts refused to let her touch the water. She was greatly disappointed with the discovery because she loved the water. If it meant she couldn't take hot baths anymore, she didn't know what she was going to do! Glaring at her reflection in the water, Kagome tried once more to step into the water but found her body frozen in place.

"What's the matter Kagome?" Kurama questioned, growing alert once he noticed her stiffened posture.

"I uh… I can't get in the water…" Kagome murmured.

Confused, Kurama made his way over to her, Hiei right behind him. "What do you mean?" he asked once they reached her side.

"My body won't go into the water… my feline instincts won't let me." she pouted, turning her sad expression to him.

Hiei snorted and rolled his eyes at the miko before swiftly pushing her into the water. What happened next was definitely not what anyone had expected. The cougar demoness fell into the water for only several seconds before her instincts took control and she shot out of the water and straight into the air. That wasn't the interesting part of the situation though because while in midair, the miko instinctively clung to the nearest branch. Her claws dug into the bark of the tree and she hung there like a terrified cat.

Kurama did his best to keep from laughing but failed miserably. Even Hiei chuckled slightly at the sight of Kagome clinging to a tree for dear life and every hair on her tail standing on end as she stared down at the water with wide eyes. Once she calmed down some, Kurama again burst into laughter when the miko turned a deadly glare directly at Hiei. She looked prepared to paint the entire surrounding area with his blood.

The hybrid smirked cruelly up at her before the branch she was clinging to suddenly burst into flames. Without time to formulate a plan, all Kagome could do was let go of the branch, causing her to fall directly into the pond with a loud splash. Kurama and Hiei chuckled as the cougar demoness lifted herself out of the water and stomped to shore. She ears were pinned down against her head and her long tail whipped from side to side angrily as she growled at Hiei. Before the miko could attack, Kurama hooked his arm around her waist and dragged her back toward the pond.

"Please calm down Kagome. Hiei solved your original problem. Now you can gather the fish we're here for and return to camp." the avatar smiled, gently pushing Kagome toward the water. As he watched the pissed miko tread back into the water, he couldn't help but realize that she indeed looked quite attractive soaking wet and beyond pissed.

After only a few minutes of waiting, Kurama and Kagome were gathering fish in their arms and heading back to camp. Apparently Kagome's feline instincts helped her hunting skills as well. She was lightning quick at catching fish and easily gathered several dozen within minutes. Kurama couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Kagome standing stalk still, waiting for her prey to approach. Her tail was the only part of her body that moved as it swayed from left to right, signaling that she was enjoying herself.

For the past few days, the group had been observing Kagome's behavior and they all agreed that she acted very cat like. It wasn't much of a surprise seeing as she _was_ a cougar demon but it was quite entertaining. Her tail and ears could practically tell everyone what type of mood she was in. If her tail was whipping from side to side, she was irritated, angry, or frustrated. If it was tapping on the ground it meant she was bored, impatient, or trying to get attention, where as if her tail was swaying from side to side slowly, she was either highly entertained, content, or in any type of happy mood.

Kurama's line of thought was interrupted as they entered camp. Once they were in sight, Kouga was at Kagome's side in moments, checking if she was alright.

"What took you so damn long?!" Yusuke complained.

"There was a slight…. complication." Kagome growled, turning a glare toward Hiei.

"Why are you soaking wet? You do know you don't need to be completely in the water to catch fish right?" Kouga asked, his eyes raking over her soaked form.

"Yes, I am completely aware of that. Thank you very much." she snapped, obviously irritated.

Angry that his woman was in a bad mood, Kouga immediately turned a glare to Hiei and Kurama. "What the hell did you do to my woman." he snarled.

"We haven't done anything Kouga, please relax." Kurama sighed, not in the mood for an argument.

"Don't you tell me what to do kitsune." the wolf growled. "What did you do to piss off my woman?!"

"Back off before I remove your tongue from your foul mouth." Hiei growled, his hand now resting on his katana.

"You couldn't lay a hand on me if you tried forbidden." Kouga snorted.

"That's ENOUGH!" Kagome snapped. Glaring at everyone, she stomped over to Kouga and snarled up at him. "I don't want to EVER hear that damn word again."

"What are you talking about Kagome?" Kouga asked, trying to take her hand in his to comfort her.

"Don't touch her!" Yusuke threatened.

"I'll touch my woman if I damn well please!"

"I AM NOT YOUR WOMAN!" Kagome yelled, pushing Kouga away from her with a surprising amount of strength. "I never have been and never will be your woman! And if I ever hear ANYONE say the word 'forbidden' again, I'll gladly tear you to pieces!"

"Why are you protecting that bastard? He's always pissing you off!" Kouga argued, pointing an accusing finger toward Hiei.

"Because when you insult him, you insult me. Have you forgotten that I'm forbidden as well? Do you know how much it hurts to be called that? I sure as hell do and I've only been like this for a few weeks. I don't want to even imagine what Hiei has gone through and he doesn't need any of you making his life even more miserable! So back the hell off!" Kagome snarled.

Hiei stared at Kagome with a blank unreadable expression as she glared at Kouga in pure anger. Why was she standing up for him? Sure she was considered a forbidden because of her half miko, half demon blood but she didn't need to fight on his behalf as well as hers. What had made her snap so suddenly? For the past few days, Kouga had been calling her his woman nonstop and suddenly something caused the miko to explode and finally tell Kouga to back off. Hiei's expression softened slightly as he watched the cougar huff in irritation before making her way back to the camp fire to cook the fish. Was he really getting to her that badly? Perhaps his insults really did harm her emotionally…

Hiei's only intention when he picked on Kagome was to rile her up for his own entertainment but he never wanted to truly hurt the miko emotionally. If his words and actions really were taking a toll on her, he would take it down a notch. She was already going through enough stressful experiences as it was, she didn't need him adding fuel to her already blazing fire. And even though he would never admit it to anyone, Hiei felt a small amount of attraction toward the cougar. He refused to let it show at all though because he didn't want anyone to figure it out. All he needed was for Yusuke to get in his face because he thought his comrade's cousin was hot.

Once everyone was calm once more, Hiei leapt into a tree nearby as he watched Kagome finish cooking dinner. She cooked all the fish she had caught but as she handed out a dish to everyone, he was confused when she didn't make herself something to eat. Slowly eating his food, he watched as the cougar began to clean before crawling toward her sleeping bag. Did she not intend on eating? Especially since Naraku was only a few days away, which meant the final battle was quickly approaching.

'Eat onna.' Hiei growled, using his jagan to connect his mind to hers mentally.

'_Hiei? How are you…. speaking to me?'_ Kagome asked, confused as she stared up at him through the branches.

'The jagan gives me the power of telepathy.' he simply explained.

'_Oh… I knew it…'_ Kagome smirked, thinking back to when he had mentally told her to take the peppermint plant when Inuyasha had nearly killed her.

'Why are you not eating.' he demanded more than asked.

'_I'm not hungry.'_

'I'm only going to tell you one more time onna; eat.' he growled.

'_I'll be fine. I don't feel like eating.'_ Kagome wasn't sure why, but she had a terrible feeling about the upcoming battle and it completely erased her appetite.

'I don't care. Eat something before I force you to.'

'_You couldn't force me to do anything no matter how hard you tried.'_ Kagome snorted as she pulled her blanket over her.

Hiei sighed. He knew if he wanted to, he could make the miko do whatever he wanted her to but that would be cruel because he'd take control of her mind and he was positive she would not be happy with him, or anyone else for that matter, if he did that. 'You must remain healthy for the battle to come. No one will be near you during your battle against Kanna so you must be prepared.'

'_Since when are you so protective of me?'_ she asked, curious of when Hiei decided it was his duty to keep her safe.

'What makes you think I'm protective of you in any way?' he snorted.

'_You never let me out of your sight and no matter where I go, you're always somewhere nearby.'_

'If you are not going to eat, then go to sleep onna.' Hiei ordered, deciding not to answer her question.

Kagome rolled her eyes. _'Whatever. Just keep in mind, you're going to get a good damn beating for what you did to me at the pond… payback is a bitch…'_

Kagome quickly strapped her quiver of arrows to her back as she slung the bow over her shoulder. Naraku had reached them much faster than they expected, giving them no time to set traps and putting everyone on their toes as they prepared for battle. Even though their plans were slightly ruined, everyone was still told to follow their original orders. So as Naraku and his army came into view, Kagome immediately locked on her target as Hiei glared at Inuyasha, who was standing at Naraku's side with a smirk across his face. Kouga snarled at the sight of Kagura as she made her appearance on her trademark feather.

This was the final battle… the fight that would determine who took the ultimate prize; the Shikon No Tama. The survivors would live on to tell the tale of this great battle that would definitely go down in history. Kagome stared at her two worst enemies and held back her tears as Miroku, Sango, and Shippo crossed her mind. Kirara rubbed her large head against Kagome's hand and mewed at her, telling the miko that she was thinking of their friends as well. Kagome smiled and hugged the neko tightly, demanding that Kirara survive through this battle so they could be together and live on with the loving memory of their friends.

Yusuke wrapped his arms around his cousin's waist from behind as Kagome linked her arms through Kuwabara's and Kurama's, which were both standing at her sides. The miko turned her gaze to both the avatar and human as she leaned back against her cousin. Glancing back toward Hiei, who was standing beside Yusuke, she averted her gaze when his attention turned to her.

"You guys better not die…" Kagome growled, now glaring at them.

Yusuke chuckled. "I'm way more worried about you than any of us. Even Kuwabara is going to be fine."

"Well you don't need to worry about me… I know what I'm doing." Kagome murmured.

"You may know all of Naraku's tricks but we did not find the time to train you to fight." Kurama pointed out, also showing his worry for the miko.

"I still have my instincts and miko abilities. As long as I have my arrows, I'll be fine." Kagome smiled reassuringly.

"And if you lose them?" Hiei asked, glaring down at the miko.

"Then I'll be testing my demonic powers on anyone that dares to come near me." she grinned, one of her fangs poking through her lips.

"I want you to stay away from Naraku and Inuyasha. Do you understand Kags?" Yusuke demanded, his gaze holding no room for arguments.

Kagome pulled away from all three of the guys only to turn and glare at them angrily. "Who died and made you boss? I need to get an attack in on Naraku if we want to win this battle. He will only be completely destroyed if I can use my purification on him."

"No, if we need you to purify him, you will be doing so from a safe distance with your arrows." Hiei growled.

"Still hiding behind your bodyguards wench!?" Kagome's entire body stiffened when she heard Inuyasha's snarl reach them. Turning to face the approaching army, Kagome stared directly at Inuyasha with a blank unreadable expression.

"Don't let him get to you." Sesshomaru stated, glaring intently at his half brother.

"You think just because that bastard is on your side that you'll win?! I'm going to tear you to pieces just like I did Shippo!" Inuyasha smirked at the horrified look on Kagome's face.

"I'll kill you before you get the chance." Yusuke snarled, moving to stand in front of Kagome just as Hiei and Kurama did.

"You'll see wench! You'll pay for what you did to Kikyou!"

A/N:

Let the final showdown begin! Will Kagome be able to end the life of her first love? Will the spirit detectives be enough to defeat Naraku? You'll find out soon ;) I would like you thank all of you who left reviews! You are all wonderful and continue to leave reviews please!

~*Icyfire*~

Next Chapter - Chapter 4: A Time to Kill


	4. A Time to Kill

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter Four: A Time to Kill

Kagome glared at her albino opponent as she notched her third arrow. The miko had been fighting off the power of Kanna's mirror for quite some time now and already fired two arrows into the mirror. She was relieved that her purification still combined with her arrows like before, meaning she wouldn't have to improvise her strategies. She wasn't sure if Kanna knew or not, but her mirror was almost to the point of shattering if anything else entered its depths. The only reason it was taking Kagome so long to finish off her opponent was because the miko was trying to keep an eye on her allies. She still hadn't actually seen Yusuke and his friends in battle and she couldn't really count that time they faced off the demon with the jewel shards because Kurama and Hiei easily tore it to pieces in seconds.

Yusuke, Sesshomaru and Kurama seemed to be doing alright against Naraku. Kirara and Kuwabara were doing perfectly fine against Naraku's army of mindless demons and Hiei was holding Inuyasha off quite easily but the miko was most worried about Kouga at the moment. He wasn't doing so great against Kagura and seemed to be slowly losing. Her wind attacks were doing quite a number on the wolf prince even though he still possessed the jewel shards in his legs to enhance his speed. Knowing Kouga wouldn't be able to last much longer, Kagome quickly turned her attention back to Kanna and fired her arrow directly at her mirror.

The albino child could do nothing as she watched her impending death flying toward her. Kagome's arrow pierced straight into the mirror and a bright blue light absorbed Kanna as her mirror pulled her into its dark endless depths. The mirror turned white before shattering into hundreds of pieces. Kagome watched briefly as the shards of glass littered the ground. The pieces of the mirror were still pure white like the demon that had possessed it but the edges tinted black. With her first task finished, Kagome turned her cold gaze directly at Kagura. Notching yet another arrow, Kagome took aim at the wind demoness that had her complete attention on the slowly losing wolf prince. Once she locked onto her target, Kagome released her arrow and smirked as the arrow attracted everyone's attention.

Everyone paused in their battles to stare at the bright blue powered arrow hurling over their heads and straight for its target. Kagura only noticed its approach seconds before it hit her and disintegrated her to dust. With his opponent defeated, Kouga sent a thankful grin toward Kagome before retreating for the time being to regain some energy. He knew he would only get in the way if he charged into battle with all his injuries. Growling in anger, Naraku turned a sharp glare directly toward Kagome only to notice that Kanna was gone as well.

"You think you've gained the upper hand?! You don't know what you're up against!" Naraku snarled as he threw dozens of tentacles into the battle field. Kuwabara and Kirara were just finishing up the last of Naraku's army when they were attacked by the sharp and deadly tentacles. Hiei and Inuyasha were moving far too quickly to even be bothered by the attacks but everyone else was now trying to avoid getting run through with one.

Kagome stood her ground as she heard several of Naraku's attacks rushing toward her from underground. Bending her knees slightly, she sprung from the grass just as they emerged from beneath her. Leaping from one branch to another, she darted toward the clearing where her other allies were. Kagome was surprised as she realized that she was able to sense Naraku's attacks approaching her. Were her powers finally beginning to work in her favor?

Before Kagome could think any further into her discovery, Naraku threw dozens of tentacles directly at her. Dodging most of them, she just wasn't quick enough to escape them all. One of the tentacles managed to wrap tightly around her waist and was quickly beginning to drag her toward the dark hanyou. Sinking her claws into the blood soaked soil, Kagome tried to hold herself in place. Her attempt to escape failed when several more tentacles wrapped around her wrists.

"KAGOME!"

The miko could hear her cousin frantically fighting against Naraku's attacks in his attempt to rescue her but it was no use. Kirara tried to reach her but was quickly thrown away and into a nearby tree. Everyone was completely occupied with trying to keep themselves alive and couldn't make their way to Kagome in time. Hiei's attention wavered for just a moment when he heard Yusuke cry out her name. The distraction was enough to give Inuyasha the opportunity to land an attack on the hybrid. Kagome's eyes widened in fear as she watched Inuyasha's claws tear across Hiei's chest, leaving a deep wound.

Kagome began to fight against Naraku with more force now. She refused to be the reason more of her friends died. With her new determination, Kagome felt her purification building within her. She held back her smirk as she pulled at her restrains, now merely pretending to panic. She just needed to gather enough purification to completely purify Naraku… and the battle would be over. She kept up her act as Naraku lifted her into the air and brought her directly in front of him so they were face to face.

"You honestly thought you could beat me?" he chuckled darkly, smirking at her.

"You'll never win Naraku!" Kagome growled, baring her fangs at him.

"Oh? I am curious of when and how you became a demon… though you haven't lost your miko powers." his smirk widened. "I know you aren't powerful enough to attack without your arrows. What did you plan to do? Tear me to pieces with those…. claws?" he chuckled.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Yusuke yelled, trying to charge through the attacking tentacles but failing miserably.

"What will you do?! You cannot defeat me!" Naraku taunted.

Beyond pissed, Yusuke charged his spirit gun and aimed it directly at Naraku. Smirking, he was about to release the attack but pulled back immediately when Naraku placed Kagome right between him and his intended target. Kurama glared at the cowardly hanyou as he tried to figure out a way to get Kagome out of harms way. Kirara was unconscious, Kouga had yet to return to the battle, Sesshomaru was completely occupied with Naraku's attacks, as were Yusuke, Kuwabara, and himself and Hiei was still fighting Inuyasha.

"It's no use! If you want to get to me, you must go through her first!" Naraku smirked.

"Do it! Shoot the bastard Yusuke!" Kagome growled.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" her cousin yelled, dodging under a sharp tentacle that had been aimed for his head.

Kagome groaned to herself as she continued to collect her purification. She knew that Yusuke's power was merely spirit energy and if the nitwit wasn't so worried about her wellbeing then he probably would have realized that his power could enhance her purification and this entire situation could be over with much faster. But then again… now that demon blood ran through her veins, Kagome wasn't completely sure if his spirit energy would help her or hurt her. And not to mention they didn't know that her purification was currently working in her favor for the first time since her demon blood was released. For all she knew, Yusuke's attack could just cause her more pain instead of assisting in her plan.

Realizing there was no other way, Kagome was about to think of some way to stall so she had the time to gather all the purification she would need but Naraku had other plans. Kagome suddenly felt the tentacle around her waist tightening, squeezing the air out of her. Kagome felt fear cloud her mind as she recalled Inuyasha crushing her lungs and nearly suffocating her. Beginning to gasp for breath, her struggle caught everyone's attention.

"Kagome! No!" Yusuke cried out, now using his shotgun attack to destroy the tentacles attacking him.

'Don't panic and try to save as much air as you possibly can. Breath slowly.' Kagome heard Hiei demand through a mental link he must have connected between them.

'_I can't… my ribs…'_ Kagome strained to explain but was cut off by Hiei's snarl.

'Shut up onna and just listen for once.' he growled.

The attacking tentacles disappeared and everyone turned their attention to Naraku and Kagome, though keeping a close watch on their surroundings. Suddenly the pressure was released on her ribs and Kagome greedily gasped for as much air as she possibly could. "Surrender the shards you have now and I _may_ consider allowing her to live." Naraku demanded.

"Release the miko first." Sesshomaru stated.

"You are in no situation to demand anything _Lord_ Sesshomaru, I have the upper hand." Naraku snarled as he squeezed Kagome once more. This time the miko was ready for it and did just as Hiei had ordered her to do. She couldn't see the hybrid but she could still hear the battle between him and Inuyasha raging on. She wasn't sure how powerful Hiei was but she was worried about how long he would be able to last with that deep wound across his chest. Shaking all her thoughts away, she forced herself to completely concentrate on finishing up her collecting of energy.

"Hand over the shards or I'll crush the life out of her." Naraku threatened.

"Alright, I'll give you the shards." Kagome gasped out, unable to speak very clearly seeing as she didn't have much oxygen. Naraku smirked as he released his tight grip on the miko and brought her closer.

"I knew you'd see things my way."

"Kagome no!"

"Don't do it!"

"Have you lost your mind?!"

'What the hell do you think you're doing baka?!'

Kagome could hear everyone yelling at her for giving in but she knew what she had to do. Wiggling her left arm to retrieve the shards, the hanyou released her arm so she could hand them over. Reaching into her pocket, Kagome held her shards in the palm of her hand tightly. Closing her eyes just for show, Kagome reached her fist toward Naraku. Smirking, the evil hanyou reached to take the shards from her but once he touched the skin of her hand, a bright pink burst of pain and agony barreled into Naraku's chest… right where his shards were located.

The bright light blinded everyone for a moment and Hiei took this to his advantage. Using his other senses, the hybrid pin pointed Inuyasha's exact location and attacked. Seconds before his vision returned, the strong smell of the hanyou's blood flooded the surrounding area and Hiei knew he'd hit his target. Naraku's screams filled the entire clearing as he was slowly purified from the inside out. When Kagome's skin made contact with Naraku's, she had pushed all of her built up purification into the tainted shards he had. Once the shards were purified, Naraku was the purification's next target.

Kagome was dropped to the ground but thanks to her new neko reflexes, she landed perfectly on her feet. She felt a sharp pain in her chest as she took a deep breath and figured several of her ribs were cracked again. With that intake of breath, she smelt Inuyasha's blood. Turning her gaze away from the slowly dying Naraku, Kagome watched with a blank, unreadable expression as Hiei pulled his katana from Inuyasha's unmoving body. Her friends could now rest in peace. When she turned her attention back to Naraku, he was no where to be seen and his half of the jewel fell to the ground.

Before taking care of the jewel, Kagome turned toward Hiei. He was kneeling down with his hand against his chest and the smell of his blood was making her sick. If the bleeding wasn't stopped, he could die of blood loss. Running over to the hybrid, she dropped to her knees beside him and tore the bottom of her shirt off without hesitation. She paused for a moment when Hiei growled at her but she merely growled right back and grabbed his arm.

"Shut up and deal with it." the miko growled, daring him to argue. When he remained still, Kagome made quick work of wrapping the cloth around his chest and tying it tightly to stop the bleeding. She could clean his wound at a later time but for now, this would work just fine. Now the miko stood and turned to where Naraku's half of the jewel was lying in the grass.

Taking another deep breath, Kagome made her way over to the pink chunk of trouble and held it tightly in her grasp. Fusing her shards with Naraku's half; Kagome brushed her fingers along the small part that was still missing. Turning back to her allies, she saw Kouga slowly making his way over to her, the others following close behind. When they reached her, Kouga smiled and bent down to remove his shards. Lifting his hand toward the miko, she was about to take the shards when the wolf suddenly pulled his hand away.

"I want something in return for giving you the shards." Kouga said quietly.

Kagome felt her heart drop into her stomach. He was going to ask her to be his mate… she just knew it… then how would she get the shards? She definitely didn't want to be Kouga's mate but it was her duty to complete and destroy the jewel… Sighing deeply, she smiled up at the wolf as she waited for him to continue.

"One kiss." he grinned.

"WHAT?!" Yusuke snapped.

Kagome stared at Kouga in surprise, barely hearing Hiei and Kurama growls over Yusuke's yelling.

"YOU"RE NOT TOUCHING MY DAMN COUSIN!"

She didn't even see the glare that Kuwabara had pinned Kouga with or the fact that the longer she stood there staring at the wolf, the closer Hiei got to Kouga with his hand on the hilt of his katana.

"I"LL KILL YOU IF YOU GET ANYWHERE NEAR HER YOU WEASEL!"

Kagome ignored her over protective cousin and took a deep breath. She could handle one kiss. She was actually surprised that's all Kouga asked for. Smiling up at Kouga, she nodded her head slightly and he grinned once more. Before Kagome could react, Kouga pulled her against his chest, wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against hers firmly. Kagome merely stood there staring at the wolf prince with wide eyes in complete shock. After several seconds, Kouga pulled away, grinned at her one last time, and dropped his shards in Kagome's hand before darting off toward his lands.

Kagome remained where she was, still surprised of what had just occurred. Even Yusuke was quiet; staring at his cousin with wide eyes. Suddenly, Kagome burst into giggles and shook her head. Hiei and Kurama looked ready to hunt Kouga down and tear him to shreds, Sesshomaru looked bored out of his mind, and Kuwabara was blushing darkly and covering his eyes. Laughing to herself, Kagome fused the last shards to the jewel and watched as it shined bright pink for a moment before fading to its normal color once more. Without warning, the jewel flew from Kagome's palm and slammed into the miko's chest. The impact sent her to the ground but the cougar demon was unconscious before she even hit the blood stained soil.

"What's wrong with her?!" Yusuke demanded.

"I am unsure. Perhaps the jewel returned to its rightful place and its taking a toll on her physically." Genkai stated, examining the unconscious miko. Yusuke had burst through her front door with Kagome in his arms only moments ago. Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara were right behind him and there seemed to be a small neko sleeping in Kurama's arms. When the psychic asked for an explanation, Kurama gave her a quick recap of the recent events.

"Is she going to be ok?" Kuwabara asked, worried about the miko.

"She should be alright; it seems that she's only unconscious." Yukina reported after healing her minor cuts and scrapes from the battle, as well as her bruised ribs.

"But why is she unconscious in the first place?!" Yusuke asked.

"We'll just have to wait until she wakes up to find out Yusuke." Kurama said, trying to calm his panicked comrade.

"She's going to be ok. Let's get you guys cleaned up now." Yukina smiled, motioning for the boys to follow her so she could heal their wounds as well.

Kagome woke in a daze, her entire body felt relaxed… as if she spent the whole evening at a day spa. She felt refreshed and energized but she didn't understand why. Opening her eyes slowly, the miko was surprised when she felt the auras of the individuals in the surrounding area. From what she could feel and smell, Kagome easily realized she was in Genkai's temple. Moving slowly, the confused cougar decided to test her powers. Since they seemed to be working almost exactly how they used to before her demonic blood was unleashed, Kagome focused on one particular aura and nearly jumped for joy when she not only successfully identified it to be Kuwabara's but was also able to pin point his exact location.

Grinning like mad, Kagome used her powers to find everyone. Before her demon blood fused with her pure blood, she almost had complete control of her powers. After her blood was released, her powers turned to chaos. She couldn't use them at all to protect herself and was forced to use only her demonic abilities. It was complicated because she could only use her enhanced senses of hearing, smell, and sight. But _now_ she was back in control of her powers again… but how?

Thinking back, Kagome remembered fusing the jewel before it flew into her chest. So the jewel was back in her body? Was the Shikon the reason she had control again? Perhaps the jewel is evening out her opposing blood and keeping her stable… therefore allowing her control of her chaotic powers. Kagome grinned once more as she wrapped her soft tail around her waist and stood. The miko knew she was going to enjoy being part demon because not only did it enhance her powers and senses but she also thought she looked better as a demon. She absolutely loved her surprisingly strong and useful tail and her cute ears.

Stretching her lazy muscles, Kagome exited the room she was in and made a beeline straight to her cousin once she spotted him, outside arguing with Kuwabara as always, and used her demonic speed and strength to tackle him to the ground. After getting over his initial shock, the detective threw his arms around her tightly.

"Kagome! You're alright!"

"Of course I am baka." Kagome rolled her eyes.

With the reassurance that she was indeed alright, Yusuke glared up at his cousin. "Don't you EVER do shit like that again!"

"I had to fuse the jewel! I didn't know it was going to return to my body!" Kagome argued, trying to defend herself.

"Not that! You were almost killed by Naraku you baka!" Yusuke yelled.

"You're overreacting." Kagome huffed, getting off Yusuke's stomach and crossing her arms over her chest.

"No I'm not! Everyone was worried about your dumb reckless ass!"

"Oh and you're _not_ reckless?!"

"Not as bad as you!"

"You're full of crap! You're way worst than I am!"

"CAN we not just be happy that Kagome is alright and continue on with our peaceful day without arguments?" Both Yusuke and Kagome turned to see Kurama approaching them.

"Thank you Kurama, too bad Yusuke can't be thankful as well." the miko snapped, glaring at her cousin.

"And too bad you cannot follow instructions." Hiei commented as he dropped down from his perch in a nearby tree.

Kagome turned her glare to the hybrid. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You were ordered to stay out of Naraku's reach, not barrel directly in the path of danger and join the battle." Hiei pointed out, recalling their conversation before the battle began.

"Yea! You were supposed to stay far away but close enough so that you could use _only_ your arrows!" Yusuke yelled.

"What does it matter?! I'm alive and everything turned out as we hoped, isn't that enough?!"

"Will you all leave her be?! Poor Kagome has gone through so much in the past day and you're not making it any easier for her!" Everyone turned in surprise to see Botan perched atop her oar near a portal. They hadn't even heard her arrival.

"What do you want Botan?!" Yusuke complained.

"Don't you go turning your attitude around on me Yusuke!"

"Yea, it's not her fault you have anger problems." Kagome huffed under her breath.

"And you don't?!" her cousin snapped.

"NO!"

"You do kinda have a short fused temper…" Kuwabara muttered.

"All of you idiots shut up already." Genkai snapped as she approached the group, Yukina right behind her. "What do you need Botan, Kagome is to begin her training soon."

Kagome turned a confused look toward Genkai for a moment before turning her attention back to the ferry girl. "Koenma wants to see everyone, including you Kagome."

"Why me?" the miko asked, her ears twitching with curiosity.

"Not sure, you'll just have to see." she grinned before stepping aside so everyone could enter the portal. Before stepping through, Kagome quickly asked Yukina where Kirara was. The ice maiden assured her that the neko was fine and resting from her injures in the temple. Sighing in relief, she followed the guys through the portal. Once everyone was gathered in the demi lord's office, he pushed aside his paperwork and turned his gaze toward them.

"Glad to see you all back in one piece. The mission is complete I presume?"

"Yea, Naraku's dead and the jewel is whole again." Yusuke reported in boredom.

"Excellent. Now where is the jewel?" he asked, staring at them expectantly.

Everyone hesitated as they turned their gazes toward Kagome. The miko smiled sheepishly and looked toward Koenma. "Well about that… lets just say the jewel is gone."

"What do you mean by gone?" Koenma questioned. Even the others were curious of what exactly happened to the Shikon.

"Well when I fused the jewel it kinda returned to my body." she explained.

"But the Shikon was removed from your body once before so that means it can be taken again right?" Kurama questioned.

"That is definitely possible if the jewel is still intact." Koenma announced.

"Then wouldn't that put Kagome in even more danger now that the jewel is back in her body?" Yusuke asked.

"Not if no one knows about it. It's dormant so it can't be sensed." Kagome explained.

"This is true. As long as we are the only ones that know of the Shikon's current location, she should be safe." Koenma agreed.

"And my powers are back to normal now so I just need to train my demonic powers." Kagome stated, glad she finally got the chance to share with everyone what she had been so excited about that morning.

"How?" Kuwabara asked before anyone else got the chance.

"I'm not sure but my guess is that the jewel is keeping my opposing blood stable."

Koenma nodded as he opened a draw at his desk and pulled a dark blue communicator from its depths. "Kagome, I am glad to hear that you're powers are controllable again and I would like you to consider something for me. Would you be interested in joining the Spirit Detectives?"

"HELL NO!" Yusuke yelled.

"Shut up Yusuke, he wasn't asking you." Kagome growled, glaring at her cousin before turning a smile to Koenma. "I would love to join the team. Life back in this time might be too boring without some excitement."

"Are you insane? You're not going on missions with us! They're too dangerous!" Yusuke argued.

"I'm completely capable of taking care of myself! Especially since I now have demonic powers along with my miko abilities."

"She does have a point Yusuke. Kagome will be quite a force to be reckoned with once she gains complete control of her demonic powers." Kurama defended the miko.

"Thank you Rama." she grinned.

"I don't care; my cousin's been in enough life threatening situations to last a damn lifetime. She's not going to be put in more danger, not if I have any say in it!"

Kagome sighed as she turned toward her stubborn cousin. "Yusuke, you're going to be with me on all of these missions, therefore you can keep an eye on me the entire time. That is… unless you have doubt in your skills to keep me safe…" the miko smirked when she saw Yusuke's reaction to her comment. He looked as if he'd been slapped in the face.

"Fine but if I say it's too dangerous, you better listen Kagome." Yusuke growled, daring her to argue with him.

"Ok ok." she rolled her eyes as she draped an arm over his shoulders and ruffled his hair.

"Now that everything is settled, may we please return to Genkai's temple? Kagome must begin her training if she is to be joining us on our missions." Kurama stated before turning toward Botan. The grim reaper smiled and formed a portal, waving them off as they departed.

Genkai was still standing there waiting when they appeared on the opposite side of the portal. Once Kagome passed through the passage way, Genkai turned and began walking toward the center of the courtyard. Kagome waved toward Kirara happily as the neko mewed from Yukina's grasp. She was so glad that Kirara was alive and well. She could now live with Kagome and assist on missions. Hearing her new instructor clear her throat, Kagome turned her attention back to Genkai. The psychic was about to request Hiei and Kurama's help but realized she didn't need to because the four boys were already following both women. Turning to Kagome, Genkai stared up at her quietly for a moment.

"First we will test your demonic skills seeing as you have been using them for the past several weeks. We will test your reflexes, agility, hearing, sight, smell, judgment, and your instincts. Hiei, if you may please."

Kagome turned to Hiei as Genkai dropped a handful of some type of round objects into the hybrid's palm. Just as Kagome was about to ask what she was supposed to do, Hiei threw one of the round objects directly at her. Luckily, she had been keeping an eye on the apparition and was able to dodge aside to avoid getting hit. Glaring at the midget from hell, Kagome was about to yell at him when he suddenly threw another. Dodging this one as well, the miko found that she wasn't going to get the chance to tear his little head off because he was continuously throwing those round objects at her.

From the slight smirk on the hybrid's face, Kagome knew the bastard was enjoying it. She was thankful for her catlike reflexes and agility. By the time Hiei ran out of round objects to throw at her, she had dodged every single one of the flying projectiles without getting hit once. Turning a smirk toward Hiei, she stuck her tongue out at him. Even though she couldn't see Hiei throw the objects because of how quick he was, she was still able to hear its approach and use her demonic speed to avoid getting hit.

"Too quick for you?" she mocked.

"You couldn't bypass my speed no matter how hard you trained onna." Hiei snorted.

"I could beat you any day fire cracker." Kagome challenged.

"Kagome… WHY do you have to start fights with one of the strongest members of the group? Why not pick on me or Kuwabara? I know the ape can't hurt you and I wouldn't no matter how much you piss me off but I wouldn't be surprised if you wake up with your tongue missing when you mess with short stack over there." Yusuke complained.

"I'm not afraid of munchkin grumpy pants." Kagome teased, smirking at the irritated look on Hiei's face.

"I am not grumpy." he growled.

"Then which one are you?" Kagome retorted before bursting into hysterical giggles. Once Yusuke understood that his cousin was referring to the seven dwarves from Snow White, he broke down into fits of laughter as well. Even Kurama had to hold back his urge to laugh. Kuwabara just didn't get the joke.

Hiei growled toward the miko in irritation before disappearing. He wasn't going to kill the sarcastic miko because he liked her too much already. Instead of injuring her like he usually would to anyone else, he was going to plan for his payback… and oh was it going to be good.

For the rest of the week, Genkai finished testing Kagome's skills and began her fight training. She wasn't the greatest fighter but she was quick and had her purification, so she could use both to her advantage. Kagome was learning quickly how to use her opposing abilities and the cougar was gradually becoming quite a force to be reckoned with. The new school year, and everyone's last year of high school, was to begin Monday which was in two days.

Kagome had yet to learn how to conceal her demonic features but she did know how to keep her tail hidden. She just had to wrap it around her waist under her clothes. This was great for a temporary solution until Genkai was able to teach Kagome an illusion spell. Yukina was figuring out a way to hide the miko's ears for the time being while Yusuke and Kurama took Kagome to buy her uniform. Kirara had been enjoying herself around the large property owned by Genkai. There was plenty of space for the neko to explore but she was instructed not to leave the forest or go anywhere near other humans. And if anyone aside from the people that were there on a regular basis happened across the temple, Kirara was to immediately hide just in case.

Koenma was infuriated when he found out that the group had brought Kirara back to the future with them. At first he demanded that the neko be returned to the past but Kagome refused to back down and allow him to throw her companion to the past on her own. Kagome was Kirara's new mistress and there was no way in hell anyone was going to split them apart. Koenma finally gave in but said that the neko was to remain at the temple at all times unless going to Makai for a mission. Yusuke even convinced the toddler to let Kagome take Kirara with her around the city when the miko learned to perfect her concealment spells.

Kagome spend majority of her days training but aside from that, she would mess around with her new powers, trying to figure them out. Hiei hadn't been around much during the week and Kagome was beginning to wonder what the hybrid could possibly be doing. She knew he didn't have family or friends aside from the spirit detectives and Yukina so what could he be doing throughout the day? Aside from him irritating her every chance he got, Kagome found that she enjoyed Hiei's presence. She actually enjoyed everyone's company, including Kuwabara's. Kurama was sweet and caring; always keeping a close eye on her to be sure she was alright. Kuwabara had a good heart and even though he could be quite irritating at times, he was still entertaining to be around.

Yukina was so much fun to spend time with. She was friendly and there was never a bored moment with the ice maiden. Yusuke was his same old self, acting tough, starting fights but still holding up his role as overprotective cousin. Genkai wasn't much company seeing as the only time she ever really spent with the old woman was during training. Other than that, she would disappear off on her own or was busy doing other things but the miko could feel that deep down she cared for all of them a great deal.

Hiei was fun to be around because of his attitude. Kagome absolutely loved getting on his nerves and making him angry. Yusuke and Kurama constantly warned her that the hybrid might snap and accidentally kill her one day but she didn't believe them. Hiei may seem like a badass on the outside but she could tell he enjoyed her company as well. There was no doubt that he found his entertainment through irritating the living daylights out of Kagome.

Speaking of irritating the miko, Hiei had been spending the entire week formulating his plans of revenge. He was searching for the strongest form of demonic alcohol in Makai that he could find because he knew that everyone was going to celebrate the Saturday before school began. Kagome had practically finished her training so there was going to be a party. All the miko really needed to learn was how to use concealment. She needed to learn how to place a concealment spell on her aura, scent, appearance, and her different ki. It could be used to her advantage if she could completely cover any traces of her miko powers so that her attackers thought she was merely a demon and visa versa.

Today being the Saturday before the new school year began, everyone was piling food on their plates and gathering in the living room of Genkai's temple. Everyone had an alcoholic beverage, including Kagome and Yukina. Kirara was sleeping on the couch peacefully but always remaining alert to her surroundings. Both girls were going to decline the alcohol until Yusuke called them chickens. With that said, Kagome grabbed an entire bottle of sake for herself and settled herself in the living room. Hiei hadn't been sure of how he was going to get Kagome to drink the Makai alcohol so he had just emptied all the sake bottles out and poured the Makai alcohol in them.

Not wanting Yukina to be effected by his prank but not really caring if Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara were, the hybrid made sure he handed Yukina one of the only bottles that still possessed sake. When Hiei saw Kagome take an entire bottle for herself, he had to try extra hard not to smirk. Grabbing his own bottle of Makai sake since he knew he possessed a high alcohol tolerance and didn't plan to drink that much anyway, Hiei joined everyone in the living room. Everyone talked while they ate and drank. Genkai had retired for the night hours ago and Yukina disappeared into her room right after dinner. Hiei, Kagome, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara were the only ones left in the living room and it was beginning to get crazy.

Kagome had already polished off half her bottle and was still drinking it at a decent pace. Kurama and Yusuke were about the same with Kagome and Kuwabara was already drunk from a few sips of the demonic beverage. Hiei was feeling a buzz but nothing compared to what Yusuke, Kurama and Kagome were experiencing. The hybrid wanted to be sober enough to witness Kagome and the others make fools out of themselves and then have the worst hangover in the morning but he found himself drinking nonstop and growing more and more intoxicated.

Eventually, Hiei had reached the same drunken stupidness that Kagome and Yusuke were at and Kuwabara was passed out drunk on the ground. Kagome and Yusuke were laughing hysterically at nothing and Kurama looked as if his entire world wouldn't stop spinning. Kagome leapt to her feet when Yusuke yanked on her tail and the cougar demon yelped and stumbled. Falling right on top of Hiei, she fell right back into her fits of laughter.

Yusuke was trying to stand to help his cousin back to her feet but he tripped over the lost and confused Kurama, causing both of them to go tumbling to the ground. The motion temporarily rendered both demons immobile as they attempted to calm their swirling vision.

Back with Hiei and Kagome, the miko was still lying on top of the hybrid laughing at nothing in particular. Hiei had gotten slightly dizzy when Kagome knocked him down but once he regained his vision, he began growling up at the giggling miko. Kagome stopped laughing and turned her hazy gaze down to Hiei's.

"You know, you may be a complete asshole but by kami you're a sexy damn asshole." Kagome purred.

Almost as drunk as the miko lying over him, a smirk slowly replaced his scowl. "You're not so bad yourself onna."

"I always knew you were attracted to me." Kagome smirked as she leaned down, bringing her lips mere inches away from Hiei's before stopping.

"Get off me onn…" Before Hiei could finish his demand, Kagome pressed her lips against his firmly. Unable to stop himself, Hiei wrapped his arms around the tiny miko and switched their positions. Kagome moaned softly as he pinned her to the ground with his toned body.

A/N:

That chapter was hard for me to write for some reason... My muse refused to work with me -_- but I hit all the points I needed to. Gotta love those fillers... Speaking of fillers, anyone watching Game of Thrones? My minds about to explode from everything going on... Like there are so many different things happening at the same time it's killing me. I just wish that little brat had died more painfully than just being poisoned! He deserved a long tormenting death for how sick and twisted he was. Anywho! Sorry for the sidetrack lol until next time!

~*Icyfire*~

Next Chapter - Chapter 5: The Troubling Future


	5. The Troubling Future

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter Five: The Troubling Future

Hiei woke from his erotic dream with a start. His breath rushing out of his lungs, the hybrid glanced around the room for a moment before rushing off to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he threw himself under the ice cold water. Thinking back on the night before, Hiei clearly remembered that everyone had indeed gotten drunk from the demonic alcohol but after an hour of drunken blabbering, everyone including himself passed out. Kagome had fallen on top of him because of Yusuke but after those three flirtatious comments they swapped, Kagome had rolled off of him and attepmted to help Kurama and Yusuke to bed before passing out. The apparition tried to avoid recalling his dream but couldn't stop himself in time.

Images of Kagome moaning beneath him haunted his thoughts. For some reason, Hiei ended up ingesting his entire bottle of alcohol without actually intending to. After he had passed out, his drunken mind formed dreams of the attractive cougar demoness that he couldn't seem to stop thinking about. Growling in irritation at his lack of self control, Hiei shook the thoughts from his mind and exited the shower. Angrily wrapping a towel around his waist, he stepped out of the bathroom only to fall to the ground as someone barreled into him. Glaring up at the individual that chose the worst time to bump into him, Hiei's eyes widened slightly when he saw a half asleep Kagome yawning as she straddled his hips.

"Oh sorry Hiei, I was just looking for the bathroom." she yawned once more as her ears twitched.

"Get off me onna." he growled before standing, not caring that the miko went tumbling to the ground in a heap. Without sticking around long enough to hear her angry banter, Hiei darted off into the forest in search of a lake colder than the shower he had just taken.

"What the hell happened last night?" Yusuke muttered, brushing a hand through his hair just as a throbbing headache made itself present.

"I haven't the slightest clue…" Kurama groaned as he lifted himself off the hard ground.

"We were drinking last night." Kagome answered as she entered the living room with a bright smile.

"So we all got shit faced drunk and only me and Kurama wake up with hang overs?" her cousin complained.

"Well I don't know about Hiei since he disappeared early this morning in a terrible mood but I feel perfectly fine." she grinned.

"That's a bunch of bull shit…" Yusuke grumbled.

"Sadly, I agree." Kurama whined, holding his throbbing head as he attempted to stand.

"I think my purification cleared out my system faster than yours." Kagome explained, not realizing that it was indeed true since she had unknowingly drank demonic alcohol instead of regular sake.

"That's not even fair."

"Where did you say Hiei went?" Kurama asked.

"I'm not sure where he went but he left about two hours ago." the miko demon answered as she lifted the still slumbering Kirara off the couch and into her lap so she could pet her.

"Who cares where the shrimp went? He can take care of himself. I'm just glad we decided to drink last night and not tonight. I wouldn't be going to school tomorrow if I had this hangover." Yusuke complained.

"Tomorrow's our first day back Suke, you're going no matter what." Kagome stated.

"Well then help me get rid of this damn headache."

Kagome spent the entire day taking care of her hung over cousin, Kurama, and Kuwabara once he finally woke up. She wasn't sure why it was taking them so long to recover but she guessed that they probably had a lot more to drink than she did. She was also curious as to where Hiei ran off to so early in the morning. He still hadn't returned to the temple and it was almost dark again. She and Yukina were preparing dinner when she finally felt him approaching the temple grounds. He entered and made his way directly to Yusuke and Kurama in the living room.

Making plates for everyone, Kagome brought all four plates of food into the living room and placed them on the table. Sitting down beside Yusuke, who was laying on the couch still complaining about a headache, she removed the wet cloth from his forehead and placed it on the ground. Kirara mewed and licked his cheek before leaping onto Kagome shoulder as the detective sat up.

"Eat and you'll feel better. You too Kurama." Kagome ordered.

"I'm never drinking that much again…" Yusuke groaned.

"Yea I remember the first time I drank too." Kagome laughed, teasing her cousin.

"Shut up, that wasn't the first time I've drank before." the detective growled.

"Whatever you say Suke."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed? It's about your bed time." he snapped.

"I'm not 10 anymore." she growled in irritation.

"You sure look like you are." Hiei snorted.

"What's your deal? You think you can just barge in here whenever you want and start insulting me?" she snarled, her ears pinned against her skull in anger. Kirara growled at the hybrid and hissed.

"You don't scare me onna, and neither does that oversize mouse."

"We'll see about that once I'm through with you. You'll be shaking in your midget sized clothes in no time." she growled as she got to her feet so quickly that Kirara almost fell off her shoulder. Before she could get to the hybrid though, Kurama grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down to the ground.

"Please relax Kagome. The food is wonderful, you should eat as well."

Huffing in defeat, the miko turned a deadly glare toward Hiei before shoving her fork in her mouth. After dinner, everyone went to their separate rooms and passed out for the night. Their first day of school was the next day and they needed a good nights sleep considering the night they had before.

Kagome waited impatiently for Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama to finish getting ready. She was almost positive that she would have been the last one ready for school that morning but that definitely wasn't the case. She and Hiei were the ones waiting at the door for the others because they had woken up late. Kagome huffed as she spotted Yusuke dash into the bathroom. Crossing her arms over her chest, the miko's tail whipped back and forth under her skirt. Unfortunately, she didn't know her tail was hoisting her skirt up high enough for Hiei to see her black panties under her dark blue skirt.

"Onna… conceal your tail." Hiei growled, averting his attention before the miko could see his blush.

Realizing what Hiei was trying to point out, Kagome wrapped her tail around her waist under her skirt just as Yusuke reached her side.

"Kags, are you having trouble with your tail?"

"I was cutting holes in all my outfits for my tail but I couldn't do it for my uniform. People would wonder why I have a hole in the back of my skirt…" the miko explained.

"Good point… well maybe Genkai can put a concealment spell on you for today until she can teach you to conceal them yourself." Yusuke murmured before running off to find the old woman. He returned with her at his side several minutes later.

"I will only do this today. You are to learn this spell tonight because you're on your own from tomorrow on." The psychic stated before closing her eyes and chanting under her breath. Suddenly, Kagome's ears disappeared. Smiling her thanks, Kagome hugged Genkai tightly before making her way out the door with the guys following behind her. Kirara trotted beside her until they reached the stairs. Kagome tweaked the neko's ear affectionately before making her way down the steps. When they finally reached school property, Kagome immediately felt like a sore thumb.

From the glares and lustful gazes she was receiving from the students they passed, Kagome could tell that everyone knew she was new. Majority of the female population glared at her as if they were plotting her demise while the males would stare at her like a piece of meat. Some even had the nerve to smirk and wink at her. Kagome blushed darkly and pushed herself closer to the spirit detectives, not noticing the deadly glare Hiei was sending to every student that looked at her wrong.

Making their way straight to the office, everyone received their schedules and checked to see if anyone had classes together. According to the sheets of paper in their hands, they all had lunch together thankfully. Yusuke and Kuwabara had majority of their classes together and Hiei and Kurama shared several of the same classes as well. Kagome's wavered amongst the four of them, sharing some classes with Hiei and Kurama and a few with her cousin and his goofy friend. The only class she had by herself was gym but the miko wasn't too worried.

Glancing at the time, Yusuke wished his little cousin luck before darting off to his first class with Kuwabara. Kurama smiled down at Kagome and offered to escort her to her first class. Kagome smiled her thanks even though she didn't need the kitsune to lead her to the room seeing as Hiei had the same class as her. Deciding to just go along, Kagome followed both demons down the crowded halls. Once they found the classroom, Kurama bid them farewell at the door before disappearing into the crowd.

Glancing up at Hiei, Kagome rolled her eyes at the usual scowl on his face and entered the room. Spotting two seats at the back of the class, Kagome dropped her things at the side of the desk before sliding into the seat. Hiei casually followed suit and occupied the seat next to her before resting his head on his desk and closing his eyes. Shaking her head at his antics, Kagome glanced around the room. She was slightly disturbed by the amount of deadly glares she was receiving and quickly realized why all the girls were acting so hostile toward her. They all thought the guys she hung out with were hot!

There was no doubt that Kurama and Hiei were sexy and Kagome was sure that girls found her good looking cousin attractive so she wasn't surprised that she seemed to be the most hated being in the entire building. From the dreamy looks several of the girls were sending in Hiei's direction, Kagome almost couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't hold it back any longer once Hiei lifted his head off his desk only to glare daggers at her.

'What do you find so amusing onna.' the hybrid demanded, his voice echoing through her mind.

'_These poor girls… I can smell and hear how badly they want you yet they don't know how much of a psychotic dwarf you are.'_ Kagome giggled, covering her face with her hands.

'Do not assume that I will not harm you merely because of our current location.' Hiei growled, his glare intensifying.

'_You crack me up! You actually think you scare me! Oh goodness stop Hiei, my stomach hurts from laughing so hard!'_ the miko laughed, holding her stomach. She didn't care that all the other students probably thought she was insane for laughing at nothing in particular. They couldn't hear the hilarious conversation that was being shared through telepathy. 

'Miko, control yourself before I am forced to make you silent.' Hiei snarled, only causing the cougar to laugh harder. Luckily for the giggling neko demon, the teacher stepped into the classroom at that moment. Kagome took a deep breath and held in her laughter as the teacher took control of the classroom.

Kagome nearly leapt out of her seat when the bell rang. Gathering her things, she rushed out the door, not even bothering to wait for Hiei and quickly made her way to her next class. Entering the room, she took a seat at the back of the class and waited for whoever she had the class with. She closed her eyes and concentrated on locating everyone's auras. Hiei seemed to be making his way in her direction as well as Kurama but Yusuke and Kuwabara were heading in the opposite direction that she was in.

Just as she predicted, Kurama and Hiei walked in together. Kurama smiled toward her but Hiei turned a deadly glare at her that caused her to shiver slightly. Before either of them could reach her, a boy with dark brown hair stepped in front of her line of vision and grabbed her attention. Turning her gaze up toward the decent looking male before her, Kagome smiled.

"Can I help you?" she asked, hoping that he had made some mistake and would just leave her alone.

"Yes actually, you see there is this beautiful new girl at school and I just can't seem to think of what to say to her." he said with a smile.

"Oh well umm…."

"Kagome, you saved seats for us. How sweet of you." Kurama smiled as he sat two seats away from her, allowing Hiei to take the seat next to the miko.

"No problem at all Kurama. Hiei are you alright?" she asked, trying to avoid the boy that was still standing in front of her desk.

Before answering, Hiei turned a deadly glare to the dark haired boy, successfully scaring the wits out of him and causing him to sit at the front of the room rather than the empty seat to Kagome's right. "You left me to deal with those blood thirsty females." he snarled, turning his glare back at her.

Both Kagome and Kurama burst into laughter. Kagome knew there were lots of girls that found Hiei attractive but she didn't actually think they would approach him. "What happened?"

"Once you escaped the room, they attacked me." he growled.

"Attacked you how?" Kurama questioned, holding his laughter back.

"Asking meaningless and irritating questions. I might kill a human today."

"You can't do that Hiei, Koenma will not be happy." Kurama reasoned.

"Yea munchkin, relax." Kagome giggled.

"Perhaps I will kill you instead." Hiei snapped.

"We've been through this before Hiei… I'm not scared of you."

"You will be in due time onna."

"Can't you two get along for once?" Kurama complained.

"Ask the crazy midget. I can be nice, he's just plain cruel. Not a single nice joint in that tiny body of his." Kagome muttered just as the teacher stepped into class.

"It's not only Hiei, Kagome, it's you as well." Kurama whispered.

"Psh whatever fox boy." Kagome snorted.

Kurama merely shook his head. From the looks of it, those two would never get along and everyone would just have to deal with that. As long as Hiei and Kagome remained serious on their missions and in important situations then it didn't really matter if they hated each other or not.

Classes were slow the first day and finally, Kagome was making her way to gym. It was the one class she was looking forward to and could barely keep herself from running to the locker rooms. Once the teacher gave her a locker number and the combination along with her gym uniform, she skipped off to her locker and changed before joining the rest of her class in the gym. They were all ordered to go outside and jog four laps around the track before coming back inside for dodgeball. Making her way outside, Kagome felt something brush against her aura for a moment. Shrugging, the miko jogged to the track and did her laps.

Once she was finished, she walked back toward the gym but stopped in her tracks when she felt that same feeling from before. Spreading her aura toward where the feeling was coming from, she couldn't figure out what was trying to grab her attention. Curious, she glanced around to be sure no one saw her sneak off around the building. Once the coast was clear, she followed the odd aura that seemed to be calling for her assistance. She eventually found herself behind the school in the tall grass. Now on her guard just in case it was some type of trap, the miko continued toward the aura she could feel.

It didn't take her long to find the source of what she was searching for and once she saw it, the miko rushed to its side. There lying on the ground covered in blood was a small boy. Once she was closer, Kagome was surprised to see the boy had furry black ears on top of his head. His red shirt was torn and the miko could clearly see the long wound across the boy's back. Examining his aura closer, Kagome found that he was full demon and barely alive. What was a demon child doing here? And what happened to him?

Shaking the millions of questions out of her head, Kagome carefully lifted the wounded boy into her arms and darted off toward Genkai's using her demonic speed. Her demonic traits may be concealed from being seen but her powers could still be used. The type of concealment Genkai had placed on her didn't seal her powers as other types of concealment spells could. This spell was merely used to cover her physical demonic traits. As she rushed to Genkai's, the small boy whimpered in his sleep and fisted the material of Kagome's gym uniform. Growing more worried, she picked up her pace. Finally reaching the top of the stairs, she was relieved to see Yukina outside cleaning.

"Yukina! Quick, you have to help me with this boy." Kagome yelled as she rushed into the temple and straight to the living room. The ice maiden followed her quickly, grabbing first aid supplies as she went just in case they were needed. Kagome tried to lay the boy on the couch but he refused to let go of her shirt. Deciding she had no time to loosen the boy's grip, the miko merely sat down with him in her lap. Yukina kneeled beside her and placed her hands over the boy's chest.

"What happened?" Yukina asked as she pushed her healing powers into the boy's body.

"I'm not sure, I just found him like this." Kagome explained. Kirara arrived and leapt onto the couch, staring down at the injured boy curiously.

"Well his wound isn't too serious. He seems to be in more shock than anything else. Though if you had taken any longer to get him here, he might have died of blood loss." Yukina explained.

Kagome sighed. "I know… I felt that he was barely hanging on."

"I wonder what happened to him…" Yukina pondered, now staring at the boy intently.

Suddenly the boy's eyes peeked open for just a moment. Both Kagome and Yukina's eyes widened at the sight they saw before the boy's eyes closed once more. His grip on Kagome's shirt tightened as he buried himself further against her. "Mama..." he whimpered before falling unconscious once more.

"Kagome… is it just me or does this boy look oddly similar to Hiei?" Yukina muttered, staring at the boy more closely now.

"Yea… his eyes look exactly like your's and Hiei's." Kagome muttered, staring at the boy as well.

Shrugging their shoulders, Yukina stood and announced that she had to finish her chores before disappearing out the door. Kagome attempted to remove the boy's grip from her shirt once more but found it near impossible without tearing his arms off. Sighing to herself, Kagome stretched out across the couch with the boy on her chest. Draping her arm over him and smiling toward Kirara as the neko settled herself on the boy's back; she closed her eyes and accepted the fact that she wasn't going to make it back to school that day.

The guys were panicking. Kagome had gone missing and didn't tell anyone. They didn't think much of it during the first two classes she was missing from but once they noticed she wasn't at lunch with them, everyone made their way out of the school. Trying to figure out what class she had when she disappeared, they made their way to the gym since it was the only class she didn't have with any of them. Following her scent they picked up near the track, they eventually found themselves at the back of the school. Confused and now even more worried than before, they frantically followed her scent until another scent mixed with hers.

It was the smell of a male… they were so panicked over Kagome's safety that they didn't realize that it was the smell of a young child. But with their minds racing, they all followed the two scents and soon ended up at Genkai's temple. Now they were only more confused. What the hell was happening? Following the miko's scent into the temple, everyone was relieved to find the cougar sleeping on the couch in the living room. Noticing the small boy asleep on her chest, they glanced at each other in question.

Making his way over to his cousin, Yusuke shook Kagome's shoulder softly. Opening her eyes, the miko smiled up at him. "Hey Suke."

"Who's the kid?" he asked, ignoring her greeting.

Rolling her eyes at his manners, Kagome sat up and was surprisingly able to remove the boy's grip from her shirt. Sighing in relief, she placed him down on the couch and stood. Kirara leapt down and trotted off down the hall to nap somewhere more quiet. "I found him behind the school. He was wounded so I brought him here."

"Kags, he's a demon." Yusuke pointed out.

"I'm aware of that." she growled, irritated that her cousin apparently thought she was not only blind but stupid as well.

"His parents are gunna be looking for him!" Kuwabara stated quite loudly. The boy whimpered in his sleep slightly and Kagome turned a deadly glare at the tall man.

"Shut up! If you wake him I'll beat the living crap out of you." she growled under her breath.

"Kagome, you have to take him back!" Yusuke explained.

"I'm not going to leave him there! He was hurt! What if he got hurt again?!" she growled.

"It doesn't matter! His parents are probably looking for him!" Yusuke argued.

"His parents can follow our scents just like you guys did! I'm not leaving a defenseless child out there by himself!" Kagome snarled.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Everyone's attention was brought to the small child now fully awake and looking terrified out of his mind. Backing away from them, the boy stared at them with wide crimson eyes until he saw Hiei. Upon seeing the apparition, he seemed to relax slightly. Standing from the couch, he made his way over to the hybrid and fisted his small hands into the material of Hiei's pants. Everyone stared at the boy in complete surprise but their mouths dropped open at what the boy said next.

"Daddy, who are these people?"

Hiei stared down at the boy in complete shock. This kid thought he was his dad? "I am not your father." Hiei said bluntly.

"Oh, I forgot…" the boy murmured to himself as a calculated look appeared on his cute face.

"Sweetie, where are your parents?" Kagome asked, kneeling so she was level with the boy.

The boy with ruby colored eyes so similar to Hiei's turned his gaze up to the woman he had thought was his mother. She looked very much like her but upon seeing her now that he was fully conscious; it was obvious that she had different features than his mother. "They're dead." he muttered sadly.

Kagome turned a brief glare to her cousin before turning her gaze back to the boy. "What happened?"

"They were killed… but I was sent back to fix everything." he smiled sadly.

"What do you mean kid?" Yusuke asked.

"Mommy sent me back in time so that I could save the future." he explained.

Confused, everyone stared at the boy as if he were crazy. Well he must have lost his marbles at some point because he was still holding onto Hiei's pants.

"Do you mean to tell us that you are from the future?" Kurama questioned.

The boy stared at Kurama for a moment before smiling. "So mommy's spell did work... you're uncle Kurama."

Now everyone was beyond confused. How did this kid know Kurama? And why did he think Hiei was his father? Even though the boy did look very similar to the hybrid…

"So are you saying that your mother sent you to this time to save the future? What happens in the future that is so terrible?" Kagome questioned.

"The barrier between Makai and the human realm is destroyed and mommy and daddy are killed."

Shocked, everyone was now more interested in what the boy had to say. If the barrier is destroyed then that means someone in the future destroys Reikai.

"Mommy told me to find her and father in the past and help them stop Kuragari." the boy continued to explain.

"And you think Hiei is your father?" Yusuke asked.

"He is my father." the boy confirmed after glancing up at the apparition once more.

Everyone, including Hiei, stared at the boy in shock. In the future, Hiei had a kid?

"Mommy said that her past self would be near daddy's past self… but I don't see her…" the boy murmured as he looked around the room.

"Don't worry sweetie, we'll help you find your mommy." Kagome smiled. "What's your name?"

"Taro…" he murmured.

"Well Taro, you don't have to worry ok? We'll help your parents save the future." Yusuke grinned.

"Thank you… but daddy, how come mommy's not with you?" Taro asked, staring up at Hiei.

The hybrid was speechless. He didn't know how to take all of this. He had a kid? He had a mate? And from what the boy was saying, they were killed by some demon that takes over the world?

"Hey Taro, how about I make you something to eat?" Kurama asked, knowing the boy would trust him since he recognized him as his uncle.

The boy nodded in excitement and skipped off after the avatar. Before Kagome could discuss anything with the guys, Genkai dragged her off to learn the spell to keep her demonic features hidden. The old woman also wanted to know what was going on since she only caught the tail end of the conversation in her living room. After a thorough explanation and an hour of learning the different spells of how to conceal her ears, claws, tail, fangs, tanned skin, aura, power, and unique eye color, Genkai announced that she was being put to the test and had to maintain her concealment for an entire week straight.

Once Genkai let her go, Kagome reentered the living room to find everyone gone except for Hiei and Taro. Taro was asleep in Hiei's lap and the poor hybrid looked extremely uncomfortable. Shaking her head, Kagome made her way over to him and lifted the boy out of his lap. She knew that it would definitely take time for Hiei to accept the fact that he had a kid. The future Hiei had the entire pregnancy process to learn affection, not to mention he probably fell in love with the child once it was born. Lying on the couch, Kagome pulled the boy against her chest and wrapped her arms around him before closing her eyes and quickly falling asleep with the slightly saddened thought that Hiei ended up with someone else that wasn't her in the future.

Hiei remained where he was and stared at the miko and small boy. He had a mate in the future and it wasn't Kagome? Hiei had immediately thought that Kagome was his future mate when the boy proclaimed that he was his father, especially since the child had Kagome's cougar ears but once the boy said that his mother wasn't in the room, Hiei was lost. So he met another female in the future? And they mated and had a child? He met another female that he liked as much as he did Kagome? At that exact moment, the hybrid realized just how much he liked the miko. He recalled all the human males he had glared at during school for merely looking at Kagome and now he understood why he'd reacted like he had.

Kagome was so different… she had a fire to her that he was no doubt attracted to and she was just like him. She was a forbidden and it was obvious that she didn't care about what he was. She had actually defended him when Kouga insulted him before the final showdown against Naraku. And she seemed to enjoy irritating him just as much as he enjoyed riling her up. Hiei shook his head as he averted his gaze from Kagome and Taro. He was far too tired to think this over at the moment. A few hours of sleep should help him clear his head and think straight. With that thought in mind, Hiei made his way to a nearby closet and covered Kagome and Taro with a blanket before settling himself on the window sill for a light nap.

A/N:

Sorry this chapters shorter but I felt like this would be the perfect place to stop. Hope everyone enjoyed! R&R please!

~*Icyfire*~

Next Chapter - Chapter 6: Search and Destroy


	6. Search and Destroy

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter Six: Search and Destroy

Kagome woke to the unusual feeling of extra weight on her chest early the next morning. Her eyes fluttering open, she smiled slightly when she saw that Taro was fast asleep lying on her chest. For a boy that just lost his parents, he seemed quite collected and calm. Maybe it was because Hiei was there and his mother in the future had promised everything was going to be ok.

Sighing to herself, Kagome slowly and carefully lifted the small demon child from her chest and sat up. Gently placing him down on the couch, she covered him with the blanket that she had woken up with. Staring at the blanket for a moment, she realized she hadn't fallen asleep with one. Shrugging her shoulders and figuring her cousin had covered her with it, she made her way into the bathroom so she could get ready for school.

Taking a quick shower, Kagome wrapped her towel around her soaked body when she heard a loud cry. Startled, she darted out of the bathroom and toward the crying only to see Yusuke and Kuwabara trying to calm Taro. Rushing over to the couch, Kagome lifted the child into her arms and cradled him to her chest, whispering soothing words to him. Kagome sighed as she brushed her fingers through Taro's hair, remembering when she used to hold Shippo the same way… At the age Taro was at, he was about the same size as Shippo had been… and his hair was just as soft, only shorter.

Kagome was so lost in her memories that she didn't even notice that she had successfully calmed the crying boy back to sleep without much effort. It wasn't until Hiei and Kurama entered the room that Kagome snapped out of her stupor. Glancing toward the surprised looks on Yusuke and Kuwabara's faces, Kagome rolled her eyes and placed Taro back on the couch and covered him with the blanket once more. Trying her best to push away her memories of Shippo and her friends, Kagome turned to her cousin that was still staring at her.

"How'd you do that?" Yusuke asked.

"I used to do that to Shippo when he was upset. It always calmed him down…" the miko explained softly.

"Yea but he was crying for his parents. He was crying cause he didn't recognize us." Kuwabara stated.

She shrugged her shoulders "I wasn't Shippo's mother either." She murmured before turning back toward the bathroom when she realized she was still only wearing a towel. Yusuke averted his gaze to Hiei and Kurama, who were obviously watching his cousin disappear into the bathroom. Only then did he notice just how small the towel was that was covering her.

"Eyes up boys, we need to get ready for school so stop thinking dirty thoughts about my cousin." Yusuke smirked at the completely different looks that crossed their faces. Hiei looked insulted, as if he wouldn't be caught dead looking at Kagome in _that_ kind of way and Kurama just sighed and rolled his eyes.

Half an hour later, everyone was ready for school and Kagome was giving Yukina instructions on how to take care of Taro if he woke up crying for his parents once more. The miko was almost positive that Yukina wouldn't have trouble with Taro seeing as she was Hiei's sister, therefore his aunt. Unless Hiei _still _didn't tell Yukina that he was her brother… Nodding her understanding, Yukina waved them off before disappearing back into the temple.

Kagome had called Botan that morning and requested that she open a portal to Makai. She asked Kirara to begin searching around for any female demons of the feline breed so they could try locating Taro's mother. Once the neko disappeared into the portal for her mission, everyone started making their way to school. Kagome rearranged her skirt as they made their way down the steps, groaning as she tried to position it right.

"What's your problem?" Yusuke asked, curious as to why she was fighting with her skirt again so much today.

"I desperately want to cut a hole in the back of these. It's very uncomfortable for my tail like this."

"But you have a concealment spell on." Kuwabara said.

Hiei rolled his eyes at the baka as Yusuke stared at him as if he were the dumbest individual in the world.

"Just because I have a concealment spell on doesn't mean it's not there… my tail, ears, fangs, skin tone, and claws are just invisible. And the spell changes my eyes to a normal brown color so no one wonders about my weird purple and silver specked eyes. Genkai taught me several different concealment spells and the particular one she instructed me to keep intact for a week straight is one that holds back my demonic powers as well." Kagome explained.

"So… the tail is still there?" Kuwabara asked.

Tired of listening to the idiot try to understand, Hiei reached toward the miko and grabbed the air behind her backside. Even though it looked like the hybrid wasn't holding anything, Kagome yelped when he yanked on her tail sharply. Hiei and Kurama were powerful enough to see through her concealment spell if they focused. They could see that the miko's tail was hanging low but swishing back and forth under her skirt. The miko didn't want a replay of the previous morning so made sure that her tail stayed low and didn't hike her skirt up. Not to mention people would wonder why her skirt lifted on its own since they couldn't see her tail.

They weren't sure why she hadn't merely wrapped it around her waist like she usually did but Kurama guessed that it might be uncomfortable since she couldn't cut a hole in her skirt and was probably just wrapping her tail around her thigh. Nodding in understanding, Kuwabara squealed when Kagome suddenly threw her books at him so she could attempt to tackle Hiei. Unfortunately for her, Yusuke was quick enough to stop her.

"Not in public Kags, wait till we get back to the hag's place. You can tear him to pieces there all you want." Yusuke muttered as they entered school grounds. Kagome clenched her fists as she tried to control her anger. Why did Hiei have to ruffle her feathers so much?! Turning to glare at the hybrid, she only grew more agitated when she saw the smug and satisfied look on his face. Growling under her breath, she stomped off to her first class, not bothering to wait for the apparition.

Hiei found that Kagome was still holding a grudge against him for pulling her tail that morning because she was giving him the silent treatment. And he didn't like it at all. She wouldn't even throw an insult back at him when he muttered a mocking comment that had something to do with being a weak and pathetic female. She didn't even turn to glare at him! Just ignored him like he wasn't there and she couldn't hear his voice in her head. When the bell sounded the end of class, Kagome gathered her things and ditched out of the room just as quickly as she had the first day… unfortunately, those blood thirsty human females attacked him with questions again… just like they had the first day.

When he arrived at the next class that he happened to have with Kagome and Kurama, he had to put some serious effort into holding back his growl when he saw that same dark haired human boy flirting with Kagome. And she was talking back to him, smiling and laughing as if he was entertaining her. Hiei scowled as he watched from the doorway entrance, not even noticing when Kurama entered and examined the situation.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you almost look jealous." Kurama commented before heading to his seat.

Hiei snorted and followed the avatar, shooting a deadly glare at the boy as he passed. A satisfied smirk spread across his face when the boy leapt into action and darted to his seat, breaking off his conversation with Kagome in the process. 'I am not jealous. The onna is giving me the silent treatment. It's irritating.'

'_Oh? Why does it bother you to such an extent?'_ Kurama questioned pryingly.

'She won't argue or fight back, no matter what I say.' Hiei growled, trying to make it seem like he was only angry because his source of entertainment was ignoring him.

'_Well it's nice to see that at least one of you is beginning to mature.'_ the avatar stated just as the teacher entered class. The rest of the day flew by and Hiei was beyond irritated because Kagome was still keeping up her silent punishment. After leaving their last classes, everyone met and was now standing at the front of the school getting ready to head back to Genkai's. Just as the group exited the school gates, their communicators sounded off. Groaning, they all made their way down the street and into a secluded alley. Within seconds, a portal appeared before them and the detectives stepped through without hesitation. Realizing they were in Makai, Kagome whined. Genkai had strictly instructed that she had to keep her concealment spell on for an entire week or she would have to hold it for longer. It was tiring to keep a concealment spell intact for long periods of time.

This was also a form of training for the miko. With her demon features concealed, so were her demonic powers because of the type of spell she was using. So while her concealment was up, she needed to learn to only use her purification because if she was facing an enemy that could somehow fight against her purification, she could use her demonic powers to catch her opponent off guard when she dropped her spell. This could also work the other way around. She could conceal her purification and surprise the hell out of her opponent when she turned from full demon attacks to miko attacks as well. Kagome was quickly pulled from her thoughts when Botan appeared before them with a worried expression on her usually cheerful face.

"You guys have to hurry, we detected a large group of demons attacking the barrier and they're doing quite some damage. Get rid of them as quick as you can then get out of there. Koenma says that if stray demons sense Kagome's odd aura, they'll get curious and start pouring in and we don't want any more demons so close to the barrier." the reaper announced before disappearing. She knew that Kagome had a concealing spell on but just in case it slipped or anything happened, she wanted the team to clear out of the area once they got the chance. Botan didn't need to tell them where the attack was seeing as there was a large amount of demonic energy flooding from just east of their location.

Dashing off toward the awaiting demons, Kagome spread her aura out to perform a quick check of what they would soon be dealing with. Once they arrived at the scene, Hiei was out of sight. Making their way down to the large group of low level demons, everyone joined Hiei in battle. This was the first mission Kagome had actually been on with the SD's and she was having a blast. Fighting low level demons were like a warm up. But Kagome quickly understood that she had underestimated the situation. Just because the low level demons were easy to fight didn't mean anything when there were hundreds of them to deal with.

After a good straight hour and a half of battling, Kagome was beginning to tire. She glanced around and noticed that her companions looked to be perfectly fine. Feeling embarrassed of her fatigue, Kagome ignored her sore muscles and continued fighting on. After several more minutes of fighting, the miko felt something was wrong. Paying close attention to the demons attacking her, Kagome spread her aura out once more to see what her instincts were trying to warn her of. A flare of power pushed against her aura and nearly knocked her over.

Quickly purifying the demons around her, Kagome was about to turn and purify the more powerful approaching demon but he was much quicker than she first thought. The demon grabbed and pinned her against a tree behind her before she could blink. Growling at the demon smirking before her, she pushed him off her.

"Well what do we have here?"

Glaring at the demon that seemed to be checking her out, Kagome quickly examined her opponent and checked on everyone else. The guys still had their hands full with dozens of low level demons so it looked like she was on her own this time. Averting her full attention to the demon before her, Kagome quickly realized he was a cougar demon. He had black ears and a long tail similar to hers but his eyes were a sparkling blue color. He stood only a few inches taller than Kagome and wore dark blue clothing that reminded her of the outfit Inuyasha used to always wear.

"I haven't met another of my kind for quite some time… and you are breathtaking." The demon purred.

Kagome stared at the demon in complete shock for just a moment before pinning him with a glare even more intense than the last. How could he see right through her concealment spell? Was he that powerful? And if he could see right through her concealment then that meant she had no element of surprise she could use on him since he had already witnessed her purification when she first tried to attack him. But wait… why hadn't her purification worked on him? He had grabbed her wrists when he pinned her to the tree and she hadn't noticed until now that her power seemed to just die out for that brief moment. During her thought process, Kagome also realized that the low level demons were no longer attacking her… so that meant this demon must be the brain behind the attack on the barrier.

"Why are you attacking the barrier." she demanded.

"Oh, you're intelligent and feisty too… I like it." he smirked, his blue eyes racking over her body once more.

"Kagome! Stop messing around and kill the bastard!" Yusuke yelled.

"So your name is Kagome? It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Kuragari."

Kagome's eyes widened as she recognized the demon's name. '_Mommy told me to find her and father in the past and help them stop Kuragari.' _This was the demon that killed Taro's parents… he's the one that destroys the future. Kagome felt her entire body freeze in place as she stared at the smirking cougar demon before her. Her instincts were screaming something to her but she was so lost in the moment that she couldn't even completely concentrate on what they were trying to tell her. There was something about this demon that was off and her instincts were trying to tell her what it was. She could see him begin to approach her but she couldn't command her muscles to move.

'Onna! What the hell are you doing!' Kagome heard Hiei's voice growl through her mind.

'_It's him Hiei... he's the one that kills you in the future…'_

Realizing that the miko was in serious trouble, Hiei quickly killed the demons approaching him before darting toward Kagome. Skidding to a stop in front of the frozen apparition, Hiei snarled at the male cougar that was closing in on her.

"Oh, and you are?" he asked, raising an eyebrow somewhat and not seeming to feel threatened by Hiei in the slightest.

"Your executioner." Hiei growled just as Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara reached their side.

"Well, I see that I am no longer welcome here. You will be seeing me again my dear Kagome." The cougar purred before disappearing right before their eyes.

Turning to glare at the miko behind him once they were sure the threat was gone, Hiei growled down at her. "What the hell were you doing."

"I'm sorry, I just… I couldn't move. Something about him… my instincts were trying to tell me something about him…"

"Kagome you can't just stand there when an S class demon is approaching you! You could have been killed!" Yusuke yelled.

"I know that baka! It's not like I purposely made every muscle in my body freeze in place!" she retorted angrily.

"What he's saying is that even if your instincts were trying to tell you something, you must learn to concentrate on them after you are a safe distance away from your impending death." Kurama stated, also seeming to be scolding the miko.

Shaking her head, she turned on her heel and began stomping away. Pulling her communicator from her pocket, Kagome grumpily requested that Botan make a portal for her back to Genkai's temple. Once the portal appeared, the irritated cougar demoness stomped through and didn't stop until she reached the living room where Taro and Yukina were eating ice cream.

"How was scho- what happened?" Yukina halted in her question of the miko's day when she saw the blood all over her school uniform.

"Koenma sent us after a group of demons that were attacking the barrier." Kagome explained briefly, not wanting to say they had met the demon that killed Taro's parents in front of the boy.

"Is everyone alright?"

"If Hiei wasn't there then she would be dead!" Yusuke yelled as he stomped into the house, everyone following behind.

"Oh shut up! You're overreacting!" Kagome yelled, spinning around to glare at her cousin.

"Overreacting?! Are you serious?! That demon was going to kill you!"

"Alright all of you shut it!" Everyone turned to see Genkai glaring at them from the hallway. "Come." she demanded before disappearing down the hall. Glaring at Yusuke and the others once more, she turned on her heel and followed the old woman, slightly irritated that they were instructed to follow as well. Gathering in one of the many rooms in the large temple, Genkai took a seat in one of the chairs and waited for everyone to find a seat as well.

"Explain." she instructed Kurama seeing as he and Kuwabara seemed to be the calmest individuals in the room.

"Koenma sent us on a mission right after school to take care of a group of demons that were attacking the barrier. When we arrived at the scene, we were all fighting off the low level demons until an S class approached. Before any of us knew he was there, he had attacked Kagome. She attempted and failed to purify him because of his speed. He had her pinned for a brief moment before she pushed him away. They seemed to exchange a few words before we noticed Kagome was in trouble. The demon was approaching her and she wasn't moving. Hiei finished off his last opponents before rushing to Kagome and blocking the demon's path to her. We finished off the rest of the demons and positioned ourselves at Hiei's flanks. Then the demon retreated." the avatar explained.

"Why were you not attacking the enemy?" Genkai questioned, her gaze turning to Kagome.

"Two reasons; I was surprised out of my mind when he said his name was Kuragari and my instincts were trying to tell me something important about him." Kagome explained.

"That was the demon that kills Hiei and his mate in the future?!" Yusuke gasped.

Kagome turned a glare to her cousin. "Yes so I'm sorry for hesitating from the shock of meeting the demon that destroys the future." she growled.

"That still gives you no excuse to pause during battle." Genkai stated.

"That may not give me a reason to freeze in such a dangerous situation but I'm almost positive I know what my instincts were trying to tell me now. I couldn't use my purification powers on him."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they stared at the miko in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Genkai questioned.

"It took me a while to realize it but my purification didn't work on him. When he first arrived, I purified the demons within reach then turned to use the power on him but it suddenly disappeared. That gave him the chance to pin me against the tree. When my purification was directed at him, it just canceled out." she explained.

"That isn't possible, no demon can be unaffected by purification. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Yusuke asked, now feeling slightly guilty for yelling at his cousin. Maybe he _had_ overreacted, especially since he hadn't known the complete reason for her actions.

"Unless he possesses some type of relic that can absorb or deflect pure energy." Genkai stated as she stood and left the room, muttering that she would be right back.

"Kagome… I'm sorry." Yusuke murmured.

"Don't worry about it." she muttered, avoiding eye contact. She was still irritated at them, even if he had apologized.

"We're sorry Kagome; we didn't know all the details." Kurama said.

"No, you didn't. You guys have to trust me ok? I wouldn't put you guys in danger intentionally. There was nothing I could do unless I dropped my concealment. Not like it mattered since Kuragari could see right through it anyway. But if my purification doesn't work on him then I wouldn't have been able to defeat him, I'm not strong enough yet." she said, her gaze dropping to the ground in front of her. Yusuke was going to sit beside his cousin to comfort her but Genkai returned at that moment with a hefty looking book in her hands. Returning to her seat, Genkai flipped through the pages before finding the one she was looking for.

"Here it is; the Spirit Pendant." Turning the book so that everyone could see, Genkai pointed at the picture on the left page. It was a necklace with a pendant hanging from it. It was a dark royal blue color around the edges but there was an object embedded in the center of it that made Kagome gasp. The pendant seemed to be made of some type of crystal and was smoothed around the outside so that you could see through it. In the center of the royal blue crystal pendant was a shard of glass that looked to be white and the edges were boarded black. The chain that held to crystal seemed to be made of silver.

"That's a shard of Kanna's mirror!" Kagome explained when everyone stared at her in question.

"How do you know?" Kuwabara asked.

"Because I'm the one that shattered her mirror remember? I know what it looked like and that shard looks exactly like the shattered pieces."

"That would make sense… Kanna's mirror had the power to absorb and reflect any attack, including your purification." Kurama mused.

"Well it is said that this pendant gives its user the power to remain unharmed by pure energy. So Kuragari must have known that he would encounter the spirit detectives and was prepared. Everyone knows that Yusuke and Kuwabara's strongest attacks are made from pure spirit energy." Genkai stated.

"He probably wasn't expecting to encounter a miko but the pendant worked to deflect her purification since it is pure energy as well." Hiei added with a scowl.

"So… we have an s class demon that is unaffected by Yusuke, Kuwabara, and my most powerful attacks. We are fortunate to have Hiei and Kurama on our side then huh?" Kagome grinned.

"Indeed. It would seem that Hiei and Kurama will be the only ones that can defeat him." Genkai said.

Staring out the window of the dining room, Kuragari turned his attention to the hawk demon that slowly approached him and kneeled to the ground.

"Sir, they came from the human world. You were correct in thinking they were the spirit detectives and the female seems to be the newest member." the demon reported.

"And what of their location?"

"They seem to be residing at a temple in the middle of the forest. There are strong barriers around the temple though." the hawk stated.

"Very well. Prepare the others; we leave for the human realm in the morning."

"Sir, if we can cross the barrier to get to the human realm so easily, why did we bother attacking the barrier in the first place?"

"Because intelligent warlords check what they'll be up against before launching a full scale attack. I needed to see the spirit detectives in order to continue on with the plan." Kuragari answered patiently.

The hawk smirked and nodded. "Indeed, that was very clever of you my lord." he said before rushing off to prepare the army.

A smirk played across the cougar demon's lips as he thought of the odd demoness with purification powers. Lifting the pendant that hung around his neck, he stared at the royal blue crystal. "If it wasn't for this, she surely would have turned me to dust. I didn't even know purification still existed… it's been transformed into spirit energy ever since mikos died out." he mused to himself. Was it possible that the cougar demoness was part miko as well as demon?

Kagome was her name… why did that sound so familiar? As if he's heard it before… Shrugging his shoulders, his mind wondered to how delicious the little neko looked in that outfit. It looked exactly like the clothing humans wore to schools in their realm. His smirk widened. He would have to pay his little neko a visit… from what he knew, cougar demons were almost extinct. He was one of the only remaining cougars left in Makai and when he had first spotted Kagome in the middle of battle, she immediately caught his attention.

She was gorgeous… beautiful body and long hair. Perfect curves and height. And those eyes… looking past her concealment spell that caused her eyes to look a dull brown color, her eyes were really a unique purple shade with silver specks. Aside from her physical appearance, Kuragari could tell he was going to like her personality. It was obvious that she wasn't like other females and listened to your every demand. She seemed rebellious… dangerous… interesting. He recalled the surprise that had appeared on her face when he told her his name. Even though he was curious about her surprise, he was too lost in his thoughts of her utter beauty to care.

"She could be the last cougar demoness in existence… and she will be mine…" he purred as he slowly made his way to his awaiting army, his tail swaying from side to side in anticipation. Kagome would be his… and they could rule the human and demon realms together.

Kagome stared off into the trees that surrounded the temple. She was a little worried about Kirara being in Makai on her own but she was almost positive the neko would be fine. Botan was keeping an eye on her so she would know when to make a portal for the neko to return. If anything bad happened to Kirara, Botan would tell her immediately. Turning her gaze toward the sky, Kagome stared at the nearly full moon. She held back her tears as she thought of her dear friends. The miko hoped they were at peace and knew that she loved and missed them. She wished she could see them… talk to them one more time.

"They miss you too."

She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped slightly when the voice reached her ears. Turning sharply, she sighed when she spotted Taro standing beside her staring at the moon as well. "What do you mean?"

"Whoever you're thinking about; they miss you just as much as you miss them." the boy said, turning a smile to her.

"How did you know I was thinking of someone?"

"My mommy used to get lost in her thoughts sometimes. I asked her what she was thinking about once and she told me that she missed her friends and family and was just thinking about the past. Daddy would always tell her that they missed her just as much as she missed them." Taro explained, turning his gaze back up to the moon.

A sad smile made it's way across Kagome's lips. She hadn't wanted to accept it yet but she was beginning to realize that Hiei really was going to have a mate in the future… a mate that wasn't her. She had been denying her feelings for him all this time but when Taro appeared and they found out Hiei was his father, she couldn't hide her emotions from herself any longer. She was falling for Hiei… maybe even had already fallen for him, and there was nothing she could do.

From the way that Taro described his mother and Hiei together, they seemed madly in love. She felt jealously swell up in her chest as she thought of the hybrid that she couldn't get out of her head. Why was she taking this so hard? It's not like he showed any form of interest toward her. She wasn't good enough for him anyway… his future mate was probably beautiful and powerful… two qualities she lacked. Shaking her negative thoughts away, Kagome smiled down at Taro. She could tell he missed his mother and hoped that everything truly would be alright in the end.

"Hey, how about you help me with dinner tonight? We'll make whatever you want." Kagome grinned.

Taro smiled and nodded. Reaching toward the miko, he grabbed her hand in his and pulled her toward the temple. After an hour and a half of kitchen work, Kagome and Taro had finally finished making their dinners. Apparently the boy absolutely loved oden and Kagome wasn't going to protest when he said that's what he desired. She loved oden more than anyone she knew and definitely didn't mind making some with Taro. After devouring their food, they shared a bowl of ice cream and Kagome wasn't surprised that the smell of the sweet desert attracted Hiei.

Kagome knew how much Hiei loved sweets and once she spotted him step into the kitchen, she rolled her eyes and began making him a bowl. After cleaning the kitchen and putting Taro to sleep in her bed, Kagome got ready for bed and placed a pillow and blanket on the couch. She didn't want to make Taro uncomfortable by sleeping with him in her bed but she wasn't about to make him sleep on the couch. So once she was in her sleep clothes, Kagome spread out the blanket and settled herself on the couch.

'What are you doing onna.' Kagome heard Hiei growl through their telepathic link he almost always kept connected. Kagome didn't know exactly what he could do with his powers so just in case, she always kept a barrier around her mind so he couldn't hear what she was thinking… if he had the ability to.

'_Going to sleep.'_ she growled back.

'Not on the couch.'

'_Who made you boss of where I sleep? Taro's in my bed and I don't want to make him uncomfortable by sleeping with him.'_

Kagome heard Hiei growl softly before their conversation ended. Pulling the blanket up to her nose, Kagome rolled her eyes at the demanding demon she had oddly fell for and allowed her tired mind to drift to sleep. Hiei waited outside in his tree for Kagome to fall asleep. He wasn't about to leave the miko sleeping on the uncomfortable couch just because his future son was sleeping in her bed. Once the miko was asleep, he planned on carrying her to his room and leaving her there, seeing as he never slept in his bed anyway. He also knew that Kagome wouldn't listen to him if he had told her to sleep in his bed, the damn cougar was too stubborn and he wasn't in the mood to argue with her tonight.

Once he was sure she was sound asleep, Hiei leapt down from his perch and stepped into the temple. Making his way to the living room, he carefully lifted her into his arms and carried her to his room. Skillfully opening the door while still holding her, he made his way over to the bed but froze with wide eyes just before he reached his destination. Kagome shifted in his arms slightly and buried her nose in the material of his shirt. She sighed in what seemed to be contentment before falling back into her deep slumber. Hiei sighed in relief and placed her down on the mattress.

He definitely didn't want her waking up while he was holding her. He didn't even want to know what kind of scene she would make in that situation. Pulling the blankets over her, Hiei found himself staring down at the beautiful demoness. She looked so vulnerable in her sleep. All of the feelings she kept hidden from the world were easy to see from the exhausted look on her sleeping face. She missed her friends dearly and even though she put on a smile for everyone during the day, Hiei knew that when no one was paying attention, her mind wandered back to the friends she'd lost.

Kagome shifted once more and pulled the blanket against her chest tightly as she mumbled something incoherent. Deciding he should get the hell out of there before the miko actually woke up, Hiei checked on Taro before returning to his tree. Tomorrow was another school day and everyone would be waking up in about seven hours to get ready. Not expecting to get any rest that night, Hiei merely closed his eyes and waited for morning.

Kagome woke the next morning warm and far more comfortable than she remembered when she fell asleep. Opening her eyes and yawning, Kagome was slightly startled to find she was no longer in the living room. She was in one of the many bedrooms in the temple and this one was bigger than hers. It had a beautiful canopy bed with tall posts and even drapes. The drapes were tied to the posts to keep the bed open and there were dozens of pillows. The comforter was black while the pillows were a ruby red and the sheets beneath the blankets were a dark grey color. Inhaling, Kagome was even more shocked when she realized this was Hiei's room.

Getting out of bed, Kagome decided she didn't want to shower that morning. She liked the fact that Hiei's scent clouded hers. Smiling to herself, she skipped off toward the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. As she was stepping out, her cousin stepped out of his room yawning. Smiling toward her, his happy, tired expression slowly turned to one of confusion as he approached her.

"Why the hell do you smell like Hiei?" he questioned, his face turning stern.

"Taro is sleeping in my bed and I didn't want to sleep on the couch. Hiei never sleeps in his bed so I figured he wouldn't even know." Kagome told him. It wasn't a complete lie and Kagome couldn't tell him the whole truth seeing as she didn't know it herself.

Yusuke held her gaze for a moment longer before smiling softly and continuing on to the bathroom. Kagome sighed in relief before making her way to her room. She checked on Taro before making her to the kitchen for some breakfast. Spreading out her senses, she located Hiei resting in a tree outside. Figuring that he still had an open link with her, Kagome hoped he could hear her.

'_Why did you put me in your bed last night?'_ the miko thought to herself after dropping her mental barriers slightly, figuring the hybrid would hear her.

'Hn.' was the only response she received.

'_Well thank you.'_ she murmured with a slight smile. So Hiei had put her in his bed last night. She wasn't sure why but she wasn't going to bug him about it. Turning her attention back to her breakfast, Kagome just finished her toast as Kurama and Yusuke were making their way toward the door. Following them out, Kagome saw Kuwabara and Hiei were already making their way toward the steps. Waving to Yukina who had stepped out to bid them farewell for the day, Kagome jogged to catch up with her companions.

Finally arriving at the school, they spilt up and rushed to their classes. Taking their seats at the back of the class, Kagome rested her head against her desk as she heard all the girls begin to get excited about seeing Hiei again. They had just seen him yesterday, why were they getting all riled up?

'You better not leave me behind this time onna. They will attack me again if you do.' Hiei growled, turning a slight glare toward her.

Kagome held back her laughter. _'You never know, one of them might be your future mate.'_ she taunted.

She saw Hiei shudder from the corner of her eye and almost burst into laughter. Deciding that she could be nice to the apparition today because of his deed the night before, Kagome waited for him when the bell rang. She took her time gathering her things and waited until he stood before leading the way out of class. Before leaving the room, Kagome could swear she heard every girl in the room plotting her demise. Rolling her eyes at the human girls that weren't anywhere near threatening to her, Kagome and Hiei made their way to their next class with Kurama.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Before Kagome knew it, she was on her way to lunch. She usually always arrived before the others so Kagome took her time and stopped by a water fountain for a drink. Hearing someone approach her, Kagome figured someone was waiting to take a drink so she quickly finished and moved to the side near the lockers to her right. To her surprise, the individual followed her and stood beside her. Turning her gaze toward the boy, she recognized him as a boy in one of her classes.

"Hey there." he said, smiling at her.

"Hi." Kagome smiled back, stepping away from him to form a bit of distance between them.

He didn't seem to notice her intention to put distance between them because he merely moved closer to her, placing a hand on the locker beside her head. "So I hear you're single." he stated, smirking down at her in a way that she guessed he thought was sexy. It definitely wasn't in her opinion.

"Yea I guess." Kagome replied, stepping away once more.

He moved closer to her again as his smirk grew. "You're pretty hot, we should go out some time."

"I think I'll pass." Kagome said as she turned to retreat to the cafeteria. Before she could escape, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back toward him.

"Why not babe? I promise you'll have a good time." he winked as he tried pulling her closer to him. Kagome was just about to pull away from him and deliver a good punch to his somewhat decent looking face when she suddenly found herself pulled away from him and shoved behind someone. She stared at Hiei's back in surprise as he glared daggers directly at the boy who had been harassing her. Oh if looks could kill… that boy would be dead six times over.

"Confront her again and you will regret waking up in the morning." Hiei threatened. The boy scowled and quickly made his escape as Hiei snorted.

"Thanks Hiei…" Kagome murmured before following him to the cafeteria.

The rest of the day passed quiet smoothly and it wasn't long before everyone was making their way back to Genkai's temple. Yusuke was telling everyone about the dissection they were doing in biology class when Kagome suddenly froze. No one had time to question the miko because after only a second of her wide eyed frozen stance, she sped off. Knowing that there was always a reason for the miko's actions, everyone rushed after her. It wasn't long before they began to feel what the miko had and panic filled them.

There was a large amount of dark energy coming from Genkai's temple and that meant only one thing… the temple was under attack by a _large_ group of demons. Sprinting up the stairs, everyone leapt into battle immediately. Genkai was trying to hold off all the demons on her own while Yukina was trying to protect Taro. She wasn't much of a fighter so she was beginning to get overwhelmed until Hiei and Kagome came to her assistance.

Purifying every demon that approached, Kagome kept a close eye on her companions, Yukina, and Taro. Her attention was quickly averted when she felt a familiar aura quickly approaching them. Turning toward Kuragari as he arrived on the temple grounds, Kagome glared at him threateningly. This was his army of demons and he had ordered them to attack the temple. He was keeping an eye on them and the bastard had to know that they were a threat to his plan of destroying Reikai. Purifying the demons around her, Kagome dropped her concealment spell. Her spell fading, her true form slowly overtook her human illusion. Kagome stood baring her fangs at the cougar gradually approaching. Time seemed to freeze as everyone paused in their battle to gaze at the mikodemon.

"And she finally reveals her true beautiful form." Kuragari smirked.

"Your fight is with us, not them." she snarled, pointing toward Taro, Genkai and Yukina.

"Perhaps we can make an arrangement and I will leave them be." he stated as everyone around them returned to their fight. Kagome once again realized that none of the demons were attacking her and she was slightly grateful since she wanted her full attention on Kuragari.

"What do you want." she growled.

"You become my mate and I will call my army back." he purred.

That definitely caught Kagome off guard. She wasn't expecting him to say that. "Why would I even _think_ of becoming your mate." she spat.

"Think of the possibilities Kagome. I plan to destroy the spirit world and together, you and I can rule the human and demon realms." he smirked. "You would be queen."

Kagome scowled. "All of you power hungry demons are the same. You think power is the answer to all your problems and that women will fall to their knees at your feet. You disgust me." she growled, her ears now pinned against her skull.

Kuragari sighed as he shook his head. "And all of you woman think the same. You think that even if you say no that we will back down when in fact it makes us try even harder." he smirked as he began to approach her. Suddenly, Kagome spotted Taro at the corner of her eye. He was trying to escape the deadly claws of a rat demon. Without hesitation, Kagome dashed to his aid. Before Taro could blink, he abruptly found his back pressed against someone else's and a long, smooth, black tail wrapped around his waist. He heard a familiar snarl and recognizing the protective hold he was pulled into, he turned his head as much as he could to see his savior but couldn't. Knowing he was now safe, he merely prepared himself as his protector killed the demons that were trying to attack him.

In the middle of battle, Kuragari suddenly called back his army and they all disappeared into the forest. Everyone was curious as to why he retreated but no one complained as they checked to make sure everyone was alright. Kagome placed Taro down on the ground and unraveled her tail from his waist before quickly turning to check if he was injured. It took her quite some time to notice the wide eyed expression on his cute little face.

"Taro, what's the matter?" Yukina asked, also growing worried over the small boy.

He stared up at Kagome with wide ruby eyes as he slowly reached up to touch her cheek with the tips of his fingers. "I found mommy."

A/N:

Ohhhh boy please don't hate me! *Ducks to dodge flying objects* Don't worry! Next chapter explains everything J so no flaming torches or any other death threats ok? Plus im sure most of you figured this out already, i didnt put much effort into keeping it a surprise lol. R&R!

~*Icyfire*~

Next Chapter - Chapter 7: Shocking Revelations


	7. Shocking Revelations

Anything for You

I do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Hope Everyone Enjoys ^_^

Chapter Seven: Shocking Revelations

Everyone stared down at Taro in utter shock and confusion. Kagome was kneeling in front of the small boy who was holding her face in his hands with a smile on his adorable face. No one could move… or even speak. They weren't sure if they had heard Taro's words correctly or not but by the way the demon child was staring up at Kagome, they were almost positive they heard him say that Kagome was his mother.

"No wonder I couldn't find you." Taro muttered as he stroked her ears softly, effectively pulling her out of her stupor. She stared at Taro with wide violet eyes as he grinned and continued stroking her ears as if he did it on a regular basis. Did Taro really say that she was his mother? Was she really Hiei's future mate? This adorable boy was her future son? Kagome turned her shocked gaze toward Hiei, who was staring down at both her and Taro with wide eyes. He met her gaze and a blush immediately heated her entire face.

"Hold on a second… why do you think Kagome is your mom?" Yusuke asked, apparently not completely convinced yet. It wasn't surprising seeing as Kagome had been around Taro for several days. How come he only realized that she was his mother now?

"Because I've never seen mommy with her concealment spells. With her spell, she has light skin, brown eyes and no ears, tail, claws or fangs. My mommy," he said as he pointed at Kagome, "has tanned skin, purple and silver eyes, a tail, claws, fangs, and ears like mine." he explained.

Everyone was back to their shocked silence as they stared at Kagome. Now it definitely made sense. With Kagome's concealment on, she definitely looked different than in her true form. But that was the point of the spell, it was to make her look nothing like a demon. Once Kagome dropped her spell and Taro saw her, he realized that she had been concealed the entire time. His mother in the future had been right, his mother and father _were_ near each other in this time as well… because his mother and father were Kagome and Hiei.

Finally, Yusuke snapped. "HIEI mates my COUSIN in the future! And they have a KID!?" he barked out, turning a furious glare toward Hiei. He began stomping toward his comrade and was ready to attack until Kagome leapt in between them, baring her fangs up at her cousin.

"BACK off Yusuke. What are you so pissed about?! So me and Hiei mate in the future, what does it matter?! Do you have a problem with Hiei? Because of his bloodlines or because he's your friend? If you've got something to say then say it Yusuke!" she snarled, surprising the wits out of everyone except Taro. He knew how explosive his mother's temper could be. He was merely sitting on the side watching in amusement. Kagome was his mother alright, no doubt about it.

Yusuke backed down slightly as the blunt of his cousin's words hit him. Why was he getting anger? Yusuke knew that he would much rather have his beloved cousin mate someone he knew than someone he didn't know or trust. He wasn't sure how Hiei was as a mate but he was positive that the hybrid would keep her safe, even if it meant losing his life. He knew that Hiei protected his family, which was obvious by the way he always watched over Yukina, so why was he getting so riled up that he was going to mate Kagome in the future?

Instead of adding fuel to his cousin's already raging fire, Yusuke turned a glare up to Hiei, who was still standing behind the pissed miko staring down at her in shock. "You better take damn good care of her or I'll kill you Hiei."

Feeling the tension beginning to disappear, Yukina stepped forward. "Why don't we go inside for some tea… and clean up a little?"

After taking a shower, Kagome returned to the living room to join everyone. Yusuke left to take his turn in the bathroom as the miko sat on the couch. Taro leapt up from his seat beside Kurama and climbed onto the couch to sit in Kagome's lap. She smiled down at the boy as she reached up and rubbed his ear softly. During her shower, she was able to accept the fact that Taro was indeed her future child and that she _did_ mate Hiei. It wasn't hard for her to show affection toward the boy since she already felt attached to him in the first place.

Glancing around, she realized everyone was in the living room, including Kirara. Someone must have called Botan and requested for the reaper to bring Kirara back. The neko was purring in her sleep as Kuwabara stroked her soft fur. The miko found that she couldn't make eye contact with Hiei. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks every time she even thought about him. Staring down at Taro, she couldn't help but smile. How did they not see it? He had her ears and her skin tone. He had Hiei's eyes and hair.

There was just one thing that still had Kagome confused. "Why don't you recognize Yusuke? He's your cousin and I'm positive that he would be around when you were born…" the miko asked as she stared down at her future son.

The boy's face turned grim for a moment as he turned his gaze to the ground. "I never remembered his name because I was younger when he was around. But I do remember being told that cousin Yusuke was on a mission that would take him a long time."

Her confusion grew as she tried to think of what type of mission could possibly take so long that Yusuke hadn't seen Taro for several years. The only answers that came to mind were either he'd been hunting down Kuragari… or he died…

"We need to figure out how we're going to get rid of Kuragari." Yusuke stated as he entered the living room once more, pulling Kagome from her dreadful thoughts.

"Yes, especially since he seems to be interested in Kagome." Kurama added. No one heard but a soft growl rose in Hiei's throat at the mention of another male being interested in Kagome.

"This could get dangerous. We have to keep Kagome and Taro out of his reach. I'm sure he doesn't know of Taro's status yet but we need to be a step ahead of him." Genkai announced.

"But if he likes Kagome, doesn't that mean he wont hurt her?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, it means that if he can't have me he might try to kidnap me and force me to be his mate." Kagome grumbled. Why did she always attract the obsessive demons? Kouga, Inuyasha, the prince and now this power hungry maniac? She couldn't even exclude Hiei from the group because he was overprotective and drove her insane at times as well. She still couldn't believe that she and him mate in the future… she couldn't even believe that he was actually attracted to her.

"There's no way that bastard is getting that close to you." Yusuke snapped.

"Of course not Yusuke, Kagome will remain safe." Kurama agreed.

"Wait, this doesn't mean that I'm going to be under 24 hour surveillance and never left alone right?" Kagome whined.

"Shut up onna and stop complaining." Hiei snorted, earning a sharp glare from her. For the moment, she completely forgot that they were going to be mates in the near future and was just plain irritated with him.

"Make me you midget from hell." she snarled. "How would you like it if you were put on house arrest?"

"It is necessary for these circumstances." he retorted, sending her a glare that dared the cougar to continue arguing with their logic.

Kagome pouted as she slumped back into the couch. Taro looked up at his mother and smiled. "Daddy only wants what's best for us mommy." he said innocently. A blush engulfed Kagome's entire face as she laughed nervously and nodded.

"Of course he does." she said slowly, definitely avoiding eye contact with the koorime now. Lifting Taro from her lap and placing him on the couch, she stood. "I think I'm going to bed. You can join me when you're ready Taro, or you can sleep with… daddy." she said, her voice wavering when she spoke the last word.

"I have to choose? Don't you both sleep together like always?" Taro questioned innocently, staring first at his future mother with wide sad eyes then turning them to Hiei.

Kagome's face turned an even darker shade of red as she tried to think of what to say.

"Taro, how about you sleep with me tonight? I would love if you cuddled with me for once." Yukina smiled.

As all children have short attention spans, Taro turned an excited smile to the ice maiden and nodded. "Ok aunty Yukina!"

Slightly surprised that the boy called her aunty, Kagome brushed it off and took that moment to escape. Retreating to her room, Kagome closed the door and fell face first onto her bed. She had thought it was hard to get Hiei out of her head before… well now it was nearly impossible! She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the little boy in the living room with her friends and cousin was her son! And the father of her son was the demon that she was falling for. She had actually begun to accept the fact that Hiei could never love her but now… now she just didn't know what to do. She didn't even know how Hiei felt about her.

Rolling over onto her back, Kagome stared at the ceiling as she listened to everyone make their way to their rooms. She heard her door open quietly and sat up only to see Taro standing in the doorway with Yukina.

"He wanted to say goodnight before we went to bed." the ice maiden smiled.

Kagome got out of bed and kneeled in front of the boy that was slowly beginning to look more and more like her the more she looked at him. Pulling him into a hug, she kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair, causing him to giggle. "Goodnight sweetie." she smiled.

"Night mommy." he purred before following Yukina down the hall.

Closing her door once more, Kagome turned to return to bed and nearly leapt out of her skin when she saw Hiei sitting on her window sill.

"I swear you just scared three years off my life…" she muttered as she continued toward the bed. "What are you doing in here?" she demanded, slightly irritated that she hadn't felt his arrival.

"We need to talk about this." he stated, turning his intense ruby eyes to her.

Kagome felt her heart race in her chest as she averted her gaze to the ground. "What's there to talk about." she murmured.

"Don't act stupid." Hiei snorted, standing from the window sill only to pace back and forth across the miko's small room.

She turned a glare toward him. "Why are you such an ass all the time?"

Hiei hesitated and seemed as if he were going to answer but kept his mouth shut. Kagome watched him walk back and forth, avoiding her gaze, and realized that this was stressing him as much as it was her. There were two possible ways this was going to end… either Hiei was going to admit he liked her or he would tell her he didn't like her more than a companion. There was a fifty fifty chance that the hybrid felt the same way for her as she did for him and if the future was on her side, then she was almost positive that this night was going to end with her first thought. She really hoped it wasn't the latter.

Hiei was debating what he was going to say to the miko. He wasn't one for words and he'd never felt so strongly for another individual as he did for Kagome. He was just so confused and lost that he didn't know what to do. And seeing as she refused to look him in the eye or even hold his gaze for very long, he figured she didn't feel the same way for him. How could she? She was beautiful and could snag any guy she desired. He was just a forbidden with a dark past. Who would want to be with someone like him? He was probably a horrible father in the future anyway.

Kagome felt just as nervous as Hiei looked. She didn't know if he was going to say anything or if he was just going to pace back and forth all night. All she knew was that she couldn't wait much longer. The anticipation was killing her and she _needed_ to know what was going through his head. She wasn't sure what she should say or ask and she couldn't think of anything that didn't sound completely stupid, sarcastic, or desperate. Kagome knew that Hiei was thinking of something to say but she just didn't know what it was.

Not only was Kagome stressing over if Hiei was going to deny her or not, she was also having trouble keeping her eyes from wondering. Even though she would never admit it to anyone, she always thought the hybrid was extremely good looking. Scratch that, good looking didn't even touch how perfectly sexy the apparition was. There were several times the miko had to avoid looking at him just so she could keep her thoughts out of the gutter and tonight just happened to be one of the nights that she imagined Hiei shirtless and pinning her against a wall… kissing her so passionately that it made her head spin. Not able to hold back any longer, Kagome stood from the bed and made her way over to him.

At this point, Kagome didn't even care if he was about to reject her, she just couldn't help herself. Noticing the miko approaching him, Hiei turned his questioning gaze toward her and was completely caught by surprise when she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down for a heated kiss. He wasn't lost in his stupor for long though because before Kagome knew was what happening, Hiei had her pinned down against her bed, breaking their kiss in the process. Both of them smelling the other's arousal spike, Hiei pressed his lips against Kagome's again as he pinned her down completely with the weight of his body.

Kagome's head was spinning… just like she had imagined it would if she ever got the chance to kiss the apparition that had his amazingly sexy body pressed against hers firmly. Unfortunately, the perfect moment ended as quickly as it had started. Hiei pulled away but Kagome thanked any god that was listening when he remained on top of her. Staring up at him, Hiei could see the fear of rejection flooding through her violet eyes. He was surprised to see it in her because it was what he was afraid she would do to him.

Gaining the courage he needed, Hiei leaned down and kissed her once more but this time softly. "I've been attracted to you since we began our mission in the feudal era." he stated, staring straight into her hopeful eyes.

Kagome felt her heart soar. He liked her for that long? But wait… Kagome's smile quickly turned to a frown as his words replayed in her mind. He was _attracted_ to her… he hadn't said he liked her. Kagome's joy quickly turned to sorrow as she looked toward the window to avoid eye contact once more.

Confused with her reaction, Hiei stared at her as he tried to determine what she was thinking. The miko had a surprisingly strong mental barrier and even though Hiei found it irritating since he couldn't read her mind when he wanted to, he respected her that much more for her amount of strength. After several minutes of trying to figure out what she was thinking, Hiei became frustrated and growled softly. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Kagome slid her gaze back toward his and he was further confused by the hurt look that he saw. "You're only _attracted_ to me. There's not much to say about it." she murmured.

Thoroughly frustrated, Hiei growled down at her once more, but more intensely. "For how well you seem to know me, you can be such a baka."

"Shut up you ass." she growled up at him.

"No you shut up for once. Don't you realize by now that I'm not the greatest when it comes to words? You honestly thought that I would know exactly what to say to you?" he glared down at her.

"I don't understand…" Kagome muttered, staring up at him in slight confusion.

Hiei rolled his eyes and groaned. "I _like_ you Kagome. Maybe even love you."

Kagome stared up at him with wide eyes. Did he seriously say what she thought he did? Did he really just use the L word? Was she dreaming? Blinking a few times, Kagome was overjoyed to find that Hiei was indeed still pinning her to the bed with his perfectly toned body and was definitely staring down at her expectantly, waiting for her response. Smiling, Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can't deny that I'm falling for you too Hiei…"

Staring down at the beautiful mikodemon below him, Hiei couldn't remember the last time he felt so happy. He could almost say that he'd never actually been this happy ever in his life. But as he stared at Kagome, he felt his frozen heart melt and burst into flames as her smile widened and a soft giggle escaped her lips. Was he really lucky enough to steal the heart of this demoness?

"I have to admit… when Taro didn't say I was his mother, I was really disappointed." Kagome murmured, slightly embarrassed.

"So was I." Hiei muttered.

"So… we mate in the future… and have a kid… who is currently sleeping with Yukina." Kagome said somewhat casually.

"Apparently so." Hiei replied before a smirk covered his handsome face.

"What?" Kagome asked once she saw his expression. It looked almost predatory… as if he were hungrily watching prey.

"I'm curious of how far in the future Taro returned from." Hiei stated as he slowly leaned down and pressed his lips against her neck. Oh how long he'd been waiting to follow through with all of his dirty thoughts and dreams about this miko. He could feel her shiver from his touch and it only caused him to gain more confidence. He smirked against her skin as she stumbled over her words.

"I-I'm not s…sure. Why?"

"Seeing as we're mates in the future, that means that we eventually..." Hiei paused when he smelt the spike in Kagome's scent. She knew exactly what he was talking about and from the smell of it, she seemed almost just as excited about it as he was.

Unfortunately, Hiei knew she wasn't ready just yet. He didn't want to that night anyway because he wanted to see how things settled before going any further. So with that in mind, he lifted himself off the miko and forced his legs to carry him to her door. Turning a smirk toward her once more, Hiei opened the door and stepped out before shutting it behind him.

Kagome stared at the door for several long moments before her blank stare turned to an irritated glare. _'I hate you, I hope you know that.'_ she growled to herself, knowing Hiei would hear her.

'Whatever you say onna.'

Kagome could hear his soft chuckles and she was tempted to chase him down and beat the living crap out of him just for leaving her hot and bothered. Growling to herself, she rolled over on her side and pulled the blanket over her before forcing her wide awake body and mind to go to sleep.

The next morning, Kagome was waiting at the front door with Hiei for the others again. Yukina exited her room and stretched as she smiled and made her way over to the miko and hybrid. She told them that Taro was still sound asleep in her bed with Kirara and that she hoped they had a good day at school before disappearing into the kitchen. Kagome hadn't spoken to Hiei all morning and hadn't even made eye contact for that matter. Hiei knew the miko hadn't changed her mind about them because of the dark red shade her face would turn every time she even glanced in his direction.

She had yet to put her concealment back since the fight yesterday and even though Hiei would rather her just put on a hat and tie her tail around her waist, he knew she had to cover her other odd features as well. He wouldn't admit it, but he loved the color of her eyes. And fangs looked ridiculous on many demons but on her, they looked sexier than ever. But of all her features; her perfectly flawless tanned skin, ideal curves, and beautiful eyes he wouldn't mind getting lost in forever… her ears and tail intrigued him most. It surprised even him when he found that Kagome's tail whipping back and forth stirred his lustful emotions into a frenzy. And he'd been waiting so long to touch her ears… he was curious if they were a weakness that he could use against her while they were getting intimate.

Not able to resist, Hiei stepped closer to her quietly. Since she was standing in front of him tapping her foot impatiently as they waited for the others, she didn't notice his approach and jumped slightly when he caught one of her ears between his fingers. He gently rubbed the base of her ear and the miko's knees nearly gave out on her as the unmistakable sound of purring rumbled from her chest. Hiei chuckled when she even fell back against him and rested her weight against his chest. Removing his hand and helping her stand straight once more; he rolled his eyes when she turned a disappointed look toward him. It was the first time she'd actually acknowledged his presence since he left her the previous night.

"Conceal yourself onna." he said just as Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara joined them at the door. Kagome sighed and closed her eyes for a moment and muttered something under her breath grudgingly. She didn't like putting on her spells; it made her feel like she was wearing a mask. She liked being in her true form and having her tail and ears free. But she had to keep the concealment in place for school. They didn't need people asking how she got such a perfect tan so quickly and how her eyes changed to a color that couldn't even be acquired by using contacts.

Once her spell was in place, Kagome wrapped her tail around her thigh and dragged herself out the door. She wanted more than anything to skip school today but she couldn't voice her desire because she was positive that if Yusuke knew she wanted it, he would somehow convince her to ditch with him. So deciding to suck it up, Kagome followed the guys to school without much complaint. During their walk to school, Kagome was very aware of the fact that Hiei was walking beside her. She shouldn't have been surprised really seeing as they had told each other how they truly felt and found out they were to be mated in the future and have an adorable kid named Taro.

The miko was grateful that Hiei only walked beside her because for the time being, it seemed that everyone else had forgotten about the fact that they would be future mates. Kagome wasn't in the mood to deal with Yusuke's teasing or complaining or threatening that Hiei had better treat her right. Today, she just wanted to coast through the day and not make a scene. Upon entering the school grounds, everyone split up and went off to their classes; Kagome followed Hiei to their first class and quietly took her seat beside him.

Throughout class, Hiei noticed that she seemed distracted. Curious, he tapped into her mind. 'What's wrong.'

Caught off guard, Kagome jumped slightly at the sound of his voice and turned her surprised gaze to him briefly before regaining her composure. _'Just thinking.'_

'Elaborate.'

She brushed the demand off, not allowing it to bother her. _'I still can't believe that we end up together and have a kid. I just never thought it was possible… for me to be happy.'_ she explained and Hiei could easily spot the sadness in her voice. She had told Yusuke of how horribly Inuyasha treated her… the terrible things he said to her. The detective had repeated what she told him to them and warned them not to chip at her pride as the hanyou had. That's why when Hiei picked on Kagome, he made sure not to directly insult her looks or strength because he knew that's what Inuyasha always attacked.

'It's hard to believe.' he agreed.

Kagome glanced at him again to see his expression and blushed when he met her gaze. _'I just never thought I had a chance with you.'_ she admitted.

'My thoughts were along the same lines with you. I figured you wouldn't desire a forbidden with a dark past like mine.' he confessed. He was surprised that he was being so open with her but didn't hold back. He felt he could trust her and it was good seeing as they were apparently destined to be together.

Kagome snorted and rolled her eyes. _'I don't know how you could think that when every girl in this room would obviously bend over backwards to be with you.'_

'You don't think I've noticed the dozens of males in this building that stare at you like a piece of meat? You're desired among this population just as much as I seem to be.'

Kagome hesitated before smiling slightly. She couldn't deny he was right and it made her heart skip a beat to know that Hiei was keeping an eye on her. _'Well then I guess I'll have to scare away all the girls that are after your heart.'_

Hiei snorted and scowled as his gaze traveled over the many females in the room that were currently day dreaming about him while the teacher was lecturing. 'These blood thirsty creatures aren't after my heart.'

Kagome rolled her eyes and held back her laughter. _'Well it doesn't matter what their after, if it has anything to do with you, they're not allowed to have it.'_

Hiei glanced at the miko from the corner of his eye. The slight glare and determined look on her face was exceedingly sexy because of her show of possessiveness over him. He was just curious of how she planned to deter the girls away from him when class ended. From what he could hear in their thoughts, the girls had formulated a plan because of the incident yesterday. They weren't going to let Kagome just walk out with him this time, that was for sure.

When the bell finally rang, Kagome gathered her things but before she could stand from her desk, three exceedingly good looking boys surrounded her desk and Kagome scowled slightly when she spotted five of the girls that liked Hiei surrounding his. Her attention was pulled away from the hybrid though when one of the boys placed his hands on the desk and shifted so that his face was mere inches away from hers.

"So you're Kagome right? I hear you're Urameshi's cousin, is that true?"

"Yes." she answered, wondering where this guy was going with the conversation.

"I hear from some girls that he's pretty decent in bed, must mean you are too since your related huh?" He smirked and winked suggestively.

Feeling violated on more than one level and pissed that this boy had the nerve to accuse her cousin of sleeping around, Kagome was about to stand and leave the room when she suddenly felt someone's warm hands hold her face gently before a pair of soft lips pressed against hers. Hiei's forest scent drowned out every other smell in the room as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment while it lasted. It wasn't long and before she knew it, Hiei was pulling her out of her seat and dragging her out of class. So much for not making a scene today…

Once they reached they're next class, they took their seats and waited for Kurama. Kagome had the sudden urge to tackle Hiei to the ground and continue what he had started in their previous classroom but her desire was dashed away when Kurama stepped into the room and smiled toward them. Sitting in his seat beside Hiei, the avatar smirked in their direct.

"Word seems to spread like rapid fire around here." he said quietly as the rest of the students rushed into class.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Everyone thinks you two are dating now." Kurama said, chuckling softly when he spotted not only Kagome's blush but Hiei's as well.

"Those girls must be spreading some horrible rumors." Kagome sighed.

"Well considering they were walking down the halls yelling about 'shrine maiden sluts' stealing one of the three 'gods' from them, then yes, quite horrible. May I ask what you two did to enrage them so?" Kurama said.

Hiei growled softly at the thought of rumors such as those being yelled through the halls. How inappropriate and untrue. "They attacked us this morning. Five of the girls convinced three boys to distract Kagome while they ambushed me. When I sensed her discomfort, I left the girls without a word and took her attention away from the boys that were harassing her." he said quietly.

"How exactly did you steal her attention?"

"He kissed me." Kagome answered.

Kurama stared at them both in surprise. He had accepted the fact that Kagome and Hiei were going to be together soon, or perhaps were already together, but it didn't mean that he was used to it yet. From all the fighting and insulting that occurred between the two of them, Kurama had been surprised out of his mind when Taro announced that Kagome was his mother. Though looking back at Hiei's actions and reassessing them, he _did_ realize that he indeed showed interest but kept it hidden quite well. Looking at them now, Kurama couldn't picture Hiei being the romantic type and hearing that he had kissed the miko in the middle of a group of jealous humans just didn't sound believable.

They're conversation ended for the time being because the professor stepped into class at that moment and began his lecture. Classes flew by like they always seemed to. Yusuke had been beyond pissed by the time she arrived at one of the classes she shared with him. He had said that people were spreading rumors that Kagome was a whore and was screwing around with Kurama and Hiei. Kagome wasn't surprised when Yusuke said he'd punched a guy square in the face when he heard that rumor leave his lips. After pounding the boy's face in, he had glared at everyone around him and stated that his cousin was NOT a whore and whoever said otherwise would end up in worst condition than the guy he'd just pummeled.

Soon Kagome was getting ready for gym and joining the rest of her class in the large building. She sighed when she spotted the five girls from her first class sitting near a group of other girls. They all turned deadly glares in her direction when they spotted her and Kagome had a feeling that today was going to get even worst than it already was. Kagome wasn't one for confrontation but if the need arose, she would defend herself without a doubt. With how many times she and Hiei had gotten into verbal battles, Kagome was confident that she could out wit these girls without breaking a sweat.

The teacher stepped into the gym and instructed everyone to run two laps around the track before coming in for dodgeball again. Kagome ran her laps at a decent pace before beginning to jog back into the gym. She was stopped at the door when she heard a snort as she stepped inside. Turning, she wasn't surprised to see the five girls and four others with their arms crossed over their chests.

"So the whore needs her cousin to fight her battles for her huh?" A blonde girl spat, a smug look on her face.

Kagome wanted to laugh. This girl actually thought that was a good insult? She had so much to learn in the art of insults. Staring at the girl with a bored expression on her face, Kagome sighed. "And you need an army to stand behind you just to face the one girl you're jealous of?"

"Who said I was jealous of _you_?" she snorted.

"Well seeing as I've practically snatched Hiei right from under you, even though you didn't have a chance with him in the first place, and you're spreading rumors about me to make me look bad, I'd say that's jealously."

The girl glared at Kagome for a moment before she snorted and stuck her nose in the air. "You think you're good enough for one of the hottest guys in our school? Or even pretty enough for that matter? You're delusional!" she laughed mockingly.

Although this girl had hit a sensitive spot, Kagome refused to let them see her pain. "If I weren't good enough, he wouldn't have left your attention to come kiss me." Kagome smirked.

The blonde scowled once more as all the others glared at Kagome in hatred. "Don't get too excited. It won't take me long to steal him away from you. And as for the other hotties you hang out with? Yea they'll be taken from you as well." she snapped before walking off. Kagome rolled her eyes at their antics. She just wanted this day to end already…

Kagome sighed in relief when she spotted the temple stairs. School was practically torture that day. Those girls were spreading rumors like rapid fire and even though most of them didn't bother her, Kagome was starting to get overwhelmed. One boy actually came up to her during lunch and said he'd heard she was both terrible and amazing in bed and that he wanted to know which it was. He was quickly dismissed when he saw the deadly glares Hiei, Kurama and Yusuke had pinned him with.

Finally reaching the top of the steps, Kagome quickly prepared herself as Kirara appeared from nowhere in her large form and darted toward her. Kagome laughed as the neko tackled her down and began nuzzling her nose against the miko's face before helping her back to her feet. Kagome hugged Kirara tightly before she reverted to her smaller form and ran into the temple. Kagome followed behind her, not noticing the worried faces of her fellow spirit detectives.

"She looks fine…" Kuwabara murmured as they watched her disappear into the temple.

"No matter how much pain she could possibly be in, that stubborn baka would never show it if it meant ruining someone else's day." Yusuke grumbled. He knew that the rumors today had gotten to her but she seemed more bothered about something else aside from the false talk around school. He'd known her majority her life and knew when Kagome was hiding something.

"Perhaps Hiei should talk to her." Kurama suggested, glancing at the hybrid from the corner of his eye.

"Hn." Hiei turned a slight glare toward them before disappearing. He didn't need to be told to have a word with the miko because he had already been debating what he would say to her. He knew exactly what was bothering Kagome because he'd been following her around school somewhat. Seeing as Kagome's mental barrier was so powerful that he couldn't penetrate it, Hiei settled for sneaking into the minds of those around Kagome. He had seen and heard everything that happened during her gym class and knew that Kagome was worried she wasn't good enough for him. He understood that feeling because he didn't think _he_ was good enough for _her._ For now, Hiei was going to give the miko her space to calm down. He would approach her later, when the pain wasn't as fresh in her mind.

Kagome spent the entire day with Taro and Kirara. Once she got to the temple after school, Taro had begged Kagome to drop her spell because he thought she was prettier in her true form. Kagome didn't complain because she felt more comfortable in her true form… more free. And spending time with Taro helped her completely forget about the drama at school. Kirara ended up falling asleep on Kagome's bed after several hours of activities and Taro still seemed to be full of energy. It was still bright outside so Kagome decided to take Taro for a short walk with her. Yusuke and Kuwabara had left a few hours ago to visit their homes and Kagome wasn't sure what Hiei and Kurama were doing, through she could feel they were somewhere on the shrine grounds.

Taking Taro's hand in hers and smiling down at her future son, she led him into the forest that surrounded the temple. She spread her aura out around her to be sure there weren't any threats nearby as they slowly walked farther into the forest. With her senses on high alert, Kagome allowed Taro to run around but told him to remain within her line of vision. The small boy's actions reminded her so much of Hiei and her that she nearly couldn't believe it. His beautiful ruby eyes scanned across the surrounding area for any danger before he turned and smiled at Kagome. She shouldn't have been surprised though, seeing as Taro _was_ their son in the future.

Speaking of the future… Kagome blushed as she watched Taro run around chasing a rabbit. She wasn't sure how far in the future she and Hiei mated and had Taro. She also wondered if Taro's appearance sped up the process. Kagome was positive that if she and Hiei were meant to be in the future, it wouldn't have happened for quite some time because of the way they acted toward each other. Even though Kagome had secretly liked Hiei, she would have never revealed her true feelings and if Hiei secretly liked her, he wouldn't have either.

Staring at Taro, the miko thought of how terrible the future must be for him. Watching his world fall to pieces and his parents get killed… Her mind wondering to that particular subject, Kagome felt her heart clench at the thought of Hiei being taken away from her. She had seen Hiei fight before and knew he was far stronger than she was so Kuragari had to be quite strong to be able to take Hiei down in battle… if that was even how the hybrid was killed. For all she knew, Kuragari didn't fight fair in the future and just had others do his dirty work for him. And if she and Hiei were killed then that meant Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan, Koenma, Yukina, and Genkai were also killed.

Kagome tore her eyes away from Taro as she felt tears beginning to well up. She was going to be the cause of more deaths in the future… it was as if the past was repeating itself and more of her friends were going to die. Their blood would be on her hands… but she was being given another chance to fix things. Her future self had sent back their son to help her correct the future and save everyone. All she had to do was defeat Kuragari before he got too powerful and was able to destroy Reikai. Kagome's attention was pulled from her thoughts when she felt someone approaching her at high speeds. Her senses went into a chaos when she realized the aura she felt approaching was the exact demon that ended her perfect future.

Rushing toward Taro, she wrapped her tail around his waist as she had before and pressed his back against hers. "Mommy, what's wrong?" she heard him ask, his voice shaking slightly. Kagome remained silent for a moment as she concentrated. There weren't any other demons with Kuragari and that brought a small amount of relief to the miko. "There's danger coming sweetie, I need you to remain quiet and still ok?"

"Yes, mommy… be careful please." he replied and Kagome could hear the fear in his voice. He was afraid that he'd lose her… again.

She didn't have any time to comfort the boy because Kuragari had finally made his appearance and was now standing several feet away from her with that trademark smirk on his face. "You shouldn't wonder off on your own my dear; there are dangerous creatures out and about."

"Nothing I can't handle." she snorted, glaring at him.

The cougar pouted and shook his head slightly. "What have I done to deserve such hostility from you Kagome? I've shown you nothing but kindness."

"You're attacking the barrier and you searched out where I live and attacked there too. How do you possibly consider that kindness?" She snarled.

"I merely wanted to get your attention." he purred.

"All you've done is caused trouble." she growled, her ears pinning down against her hair.

"Has anyone ever told you that your incredibly sexy when you're angry?" he questioned, taking a step closer to her.

"Stay away from me." she growled, baring her fangs.

"Now why would I do that?" he smirked, taking another step toward her.

"Because I will tear you to pieces if you don't." she snarled, her entire body tensing.

Kuragari's attention was pulled from Kagome when he heard a soft whimper. He chuckled slightly as he took in Kagome's tense, protective stance and realized why she was more cautious than he'd seen during their very first encounter. "So that demon child is with you hmm?" he questioned, smirking once more when he saw Kagome's anger increase. Before Kagome knew what was happening, Kuragari disappeared from her line of vision. Her senses told her exactly where he was and she turned so quickly, she wouldn't have been surprised if Taro was slightly dizzy.

"He looks surprisingly similar to you, has the same ears and some facial features… but he lacks you're breathtaking eyes." the cougar stated, his expression turning curious. "His scent is also similar to yours… If I didn't know any better, I would say he could be your son."

The slightly wide eyed expression that crossed Kagome's face for just a moment was enough to confirm Kuragari's curiosity. Not to mention Taro had somehow built up the courage to snarl out a threat if he dared to touch his mommy. Kagome glared at her opponent threateningly as she prepared for him to attack… or do anything. She was surprised when he merely glared at the ground and clenched his hands into fists.

"Who is the father? So that I can tear him to pieces and take his place."

"I'll rip you apart before I let you lay a hand on him _or_ my son." she snarled.

"Oh? You think you can successfully protect the kit from me?" he challenged, his ears perking up in interest. Before Kagome could throw out another threat, Kuragari was on the move once more, but this time she was prepared for it. Her trained eyes watched him carefully as he circled her and looked for an opening in her protective stance. No matter where he moved, Kagome was able to maneuver Taro out of harms way. She was quickly getting more pissed as each second ticked by. This bastard found it entertaining to play with Taro's life.

Kagome thought that Kuragari was going to mess around with her all night until he finally landed an attack on her. It wasn't severe but she knew his intention was to weaken her so that she couldn't successfully keep Taro safe any longer. Now that she knew he wouldn't hesitate to draw her blood, Kagome was even more alert to his actions. Unfortunately for her, he seemed to be almost as quick as Hiei and she wasn't nearly fast enough to match his speed every time he dove in to attack. Her main goal was to keep Taro out of harms way, even if it meant that she took the blow.

Kagome was about to retaliate with an attack of her own just as Kuragari was rushing in for another attack when Hiei suddenly appeared before her and deflected the cougar's attack with his katana. Relief flooded through Kagome's entire system as she unraveled her tail from Taro's waist and pulled him into her lap so she could lean back against a tree. She had several injuries and although they weren't deep enough to kill her, they hurt like all hell and were bleeding freely.

Kagome watched as Hiei and Kuragari's fight quickly escalated into a serious life or death battle. Kagome could tell Hiei was pissed and just wanted to paint the surrounding area with the cougar's blood and she could tell Kuragari realized it. They're battle raged on for quite some time and the sun was beginning to fall behind the mountains. Hiei knew that Kagome's wounds needed to be taken care of and he could see that she was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. He needed to finish this quickly but Kuragari's skills nearly matched his and he was able to counter all of his attacks. He needed to find some kind of weakness that he could use to his advantage.

"You're protecting them as if you're life depended on it." Kuragari observed with slight amusement in his voice. "Is the father of her son going to kill you if you don't bring them back in one piece?" he mocked, his eyes narrowing slightly at the thought of Kagome being with another male.

That's when it clicked and the hybrid knew how to end this. Hiei snorted as a slight smirked appeared on his face. "I'm the father. Isn't that obvious baka." he mocked. Only an idiot couldn't tell that Kuragari had seemed to have fallen for Kagome. He was obviously jealous that the miko had a child and apparently a significant other. Hiei figured that if he got the cougar pissed off, his defense would waver and he'd get his chance to take his opponent down.

Kuragari's eyes widened as his gaze briefly traveled to the small boy sitting in Kagome's lap trying to keep her awake. Feeling eyes on him, Taro turned to his father and the demon he was fighting and Kuragari saw it. The boy had the exact same eyes at the hybrid he was currently battling against. He was telling the truth… he was the father of Kagome's son. Kuragari snarled in anger and leapt forward to attack Hiei but didn't realize that in his fury, he wasn't paying complete attention anymore. With his distraction, Hiei was able to push his katana directly into his enemy's stomach. Unfortunately, the hybrid didn't get the chance to finish him off because he disappeared right before his eyes.

Shaking his mind clear, Hiei rushed to Kagome's side and grew even more worried when he saw how close she was to passing out. Lifting her into his arms and pulling Taro onto his back, Hiei rushed back to the temple and directly to his room. Placing the miko down on his bed, the hybrid placed Taro down beside her before quickly locating Yukina. The ice maiden made quick work of healing Kagome's wounds before Hiei requested she have Taro sleep with her for the night. Yukina departed to her room with Taro in tow, muttering that she expected an explanation in the morning.

Once the maiden closed his door, Hiei crawled onto his bed and sat with his back against the head board. Pulling the still unconscious miko into his lap, he laid her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her protectively. Burying his nose in her hair, he sighed as he growled softly. "Baka onna… why do you have to be so reckless… you'll be the end of me if you continue causing so much trouble…"

A/N:

That wraps up this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed. Until next time…. R&R!

~*Icyfire*~

Next Chapter - Chapter 8: Multiple Failed Attempts


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